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Johns  Hopkins  Univeksity  Studies 


IN 


HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 

HEKBERT  B.  ADAMS,  Editor 


Hiatory  is  past  Politics  and  Politics  present  KiBtoiy— Freeman 


EXTRA  VOLUME 
XIII 


AMEEIOA 


ITS  GEOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY 


1492-1892 


Six  Lectures  delivered  to  Graduate  Students  of 
THE  Johns  Hopkins  University 

WITH  A 

SUPPLEMENT 

ENTITLED 

WAS  THE  RIO  DEL  ESPIRITU  SANTO  OF  THE  SPAN- 
ISH GEOGRAPHERS  THE  MISSISSIPPI? 


By  WALTER  B.  SCAIFE,  Ph.  D.  (Vienna) 


BALTIMORE 

The  Johns  Hopkins  Press 

1892 


Copyright,  1892,  by  The  Johns  Hopkins  Press. 


JOHN  murphy  a  CO,  PRINTERS, 
BALTIMORE. 


Bancroft  Library 

^  n^  -J  cs 


CONTENTS 


PAGE. 

I. — The  Development  op  the  Atlantic  Coast  in  the  Con- 
sciousness OF  Europe 1 

II. — Development  of  Pacific  Coast  Geography 22 

III. — Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions 38 

IV.— Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names: 

America 60 

Brazil 78 

Canada 83 

V. — Development  of  American  National  and  State  Boun- 
daries   89 

VI. — Geographical  Work  of  the  National  Government 118 

Supplement 139 


LIST  OF  MAPS. 


1.  American  portion  of  Juan  de  la  Coza's  map  of  the  world,  1560 ;  from 

Jomard. 

2.  The  Cantino  map,  from  Harrisse. 

3.  The  Kuysch  map,  1508 ;  from  original  in  Astor  Library. 

4.  Spanish  official  map  of  1527 ;  from  original  in  Grand-Ducal  Library, 

Weimar. 

5.  Eibero's  map,  1529 ;  from  original  also  in  Weimar. 

6.  Portion  of  America,  Cabot's  map  of  1544 ;  from  Jomard. 

7.  Portion  of  Mercator's  map  of  the  world,  1569 ;  from  Jomard. 

8.  America  according  to  Ortelius,  1570;  from  original  in  Astor  Library. 

9.  Hennepin's  map ;  from  English  Edition,  1699. 

10.  Thomas  Hood's  map,  1592 ;  from  original  MS.  in  Royal  Library,  Mu- 
nich. Described  in  Codices  Manuscripti  Bibliothecae  Regiae  Mona- 
censis,  by  Georgius  M.  Thomas.     Munich,  1858,  pp.  272-273. 


To     MY     FRIEND     AND     FORMER     INSTRUCTOR,     PROFESSOR 

Herbert  B.  Adams,  to  whose  kindness  these  lectures 
owe  their  origin,  this  book  is  affectionately  dedi- 
CATED  BY 

The  Author. 


NOTE. 


The  author  takes  pleasure  in  acknowledging  the  debt  of  grati- 
tude he  owes  to  Professor  T.  C.  Mendenhall,  Director  of  the  U.  S. 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey ;  to  Mr.  Henry  Gannett,  Chief  Topog- 
rapher of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey ;  and  to  Mr.  Frederic 
Bancroft,  late  Librarian  of  the  Library  of  the  Department  of  State, 
for  their  kind  assistance  rendered  in  the  prosecution  of  his  work. 
His  thanks  are  also  due  to  the  librarians  of  the  Grand-Ducal 
Library  at  Weimar,  of  the  Royal  Library  at  Munich,  of  the 
Astor  Library,  and  of  the  American  Geographical  Society  in 
New  York,  for  the  privilege  of  having  photographed  valuable 
maps  in  their  keeping. 

Philadelphia, 

March,  1892. 


AMERICA:  ITS  GEOGRAPHICAL 
HISTORY. 


The  Development  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  in  the 
Consciousness  of  Europe. 

It  is  proposed  in  this  lecture  to  give  an  outline  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  a  knowledge  of  the  Atlantic  coast-line  of  America 
grew  into  the  consciousness  of  the  Europeans.  For  this  pur- 
pose it  is  not  necessary  to  go  back  to  the  time  of  the  Northmen, 
though  there  is  no  reasonable  room  for  doubt  that  they,  centuries 
before  Columbus,  discovered  and  occupied  a  portion  of  North 
America.  But  their  settlements  died  out,  and  the  knowledge 
of  their  discoveries  failed  to  penetrate  civilized  Europe.  Our 
theme  begins  in  the  night  from  the  11th  to  the  12th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1492.  Picture  to  yourselves  Columbus  anxiously  walking 
the  deck  of  his  diminutive  hundred-tou  ship,  at  ten  o'clock  at 
night,  in  the  moonlight,  and  wondering  if  he  would  ever  see 
the  shores  of  the  golden  India,  of  which  he  had  dreamed  and 
talked  for  so  many  years.  Suddenly  a  strange  light  appears 
on  the  horizon.  The  heart  of  the  watcher  beats  wildly.  Surely 
that  betokens  the  presence  of  man  ;  and  not  far  off,  there  must 
be  land.  How  slowly  the  minutes  pass  as  his  anxious  eyes  peer 
into  the  gray  moonlight,  searching  for  a  glimpse  of  land.  But 
four  long  hours  go  by  before  the  low-lying  coast  can  be  dis- 
cerned.    The  ship  then  casts  anchor,  and  its  occupants  await 

1 


2  America:   Its  Geographical  History, 

the  day.  They  were  off  a  little  island  which  the  natives  called 
Guanahani.  Here  American  geography  begins  ;  and  from 
this  little  island  it  expanded,  in  the  course  of  a  couple  of 
centuries,  to  include  two  vast  continents. 

This  island  of  Guanahani  plays  a  great  part  in  the  history  of 
American  discovery,  as  the  first  point  touched  by  the  foot  of 
the  fifteenth  century  explorer ;  and  accordingly  it  will  be  worth 
our  while  to  consider  for  a  few  moments  the  various  theories 
that  have  been  advanced  to  establish  the  claim  of  one  island 
or  another  to  the  proud  title  of  the  first  discovery  on  this 
western  shore. 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  solving  the  problem  are  great. 
The  description  of  Columbus  that  has  come  down  to  our  time 
is  meagre,  and  the  then  state  of  scientific  knowledge  was  such 
that  we  cannot  now  rely  absolutely  on  the  data  of  his  log  of 
the  voyage.  Here  he  took  no  observation  as  to  his  latitude ; 
and  even  if  he  had  done  so  it  might  have  resulted  in  showing 
him  as  far  from  arriving  at  his  true  position  as  it  did  a  little 
later  when  he  tried  to  get  his  latitude  near  the  north-western 
point  of  the  present  Hayti,  and  found  it  to  be  in  latitude  17, 
when  in  fact  it  is  almost  20  degrees  north  of  the  equator.  In 
his  journal  we  find  in  reference  to  Guanahani  the  following  : 
"  This  island  is  very  [better,  quite]  large  and  very  level  and 
has  very  green  trees,  and  abundance  of  water,  and  a  very  large 
lagoon  in  the  middle,  without  any  mountain,  and  all  is  covered 
with  verdu[r]e,  most  pleasing  to  the  eye."  "At  dawn  I  ordered 
the  boat  of  the  ship  and  the  boats  of  the  Caravels  to  be  got 
ready,  and  went  along  the  island,  in  a  north-northeasterly 
direction,  to  see  the  other  side,  which  was  on  the  other  side  of 
the  east. — But  I  was  afraid  of  a  reef  of  rocks  which  entirely 
surrounds  that  island,  although  there  is  within  it  depth  enough 
and  ample  harbor  for  all  the  vessels  of  Christendom,  but  the 
entrance  is  very  narrow.  It  is  true  that  the  interior  of  that 
belt  contains  some  rocks  [Spanish  bajas,  or  shallows],  but  the 
sea  is  there  as  still  as  the  water  in  a  well.  And  in  order  to  see 
all  this  I  moved  this  morning,  that  I  might  give  an  account  '^ 


The  Development  of  the  Atlantic  Coast,  3 

"  of  everything  to  your  Highnesses,  and  also  to  see  where  a 
fort  could  be  built,  and  found  a  piece  of  land  like  an  island, 
although  it  is  not  one,  with  six  houses  on  it,  which  in  two  days 
could  easily  be  cut  off  and  converted  into  an  island.^^  .  .  . 
"  I  observed  all  that  harbor,  and  afterwards  I  returned  to  the 
ship  and  set  sail,  and  saw  so  many  islands  that  I  could  not 
decide  to  which  one  I  should  go  first,  and  the  men  I  had  taken 
told  me  by  signs  that  they  were  innumerable,  and  named 
more  than  one  hundred  of  them.'^^  As  the  islands  of  the 
Bahama  group  are  so  numerous,  and  the  magnetical  data  of 
the  log  of  the  voyage  so  uncertain,  various  interpretations  of 
the  meagre  facts  known  to  us  have  accordingly  been  made ; 
and  thus  no  less  than  five  different  islands  are  respectively 
asserted  to  be  the  original  Guanahani.  These  are  Grand 
Turk,  advocated  especially  by  the  Spanish  historian  Navarrete ; 
2,  Marignana,  resulting  from  the  researches  of  the  Dutch  in- 
vestigator Varnhagen;  3,  Watling's  Island,  adopted  by 
Muiioz,  Becher,  Major;  4,  Cat  Island,  which  received  the 
recognition  of  von  Humboldt  and  Washington  Irving.  The 
last  one,  Samana,  is  advocated  with  great  elaborateness  by 
Captain  G.  V.  Fox  of  the  United  States  navy,  who,  at  the 
request  of  the  national  government,  made  an  exhaustive  study 
of  the  whole  subject ;  not  only  theoretically  but  also  practi- 
cally, going  over  the  entire  section  of  the  West  Indies  in 
question,  and  examining  the  topography  of  the  several  islands, 
their  relative  positions,  etc. 

The  last  word  comes  from  a  German  source,  Mr.  Rudolf 
Cronau,  who  made  a  tour  of  investigation  in  the  autumn  of 
1890,  and  leaving  aside  the  log  of  Columbus,  looked  only  to 
his  description  of  the  island  itself  and  his  course  after  leaving 
it  until  he  reached  Cuba.  To  these  points  he  adds  the  remark 
of  Las  Casas,  that  "  the  first  land  was  one  of  those  islands 
which  we  call  the  Lucayos.  The  said  island  has  the  form  of  a 
bean."    His  conclusion  is,  "  that  Guanahani  is  solely  and  alone 

*  Translation  in  Capt.  Fox's  Methods  and  Results. 


4  America:   Its  Geographieal  History. 

with  Watling's  Island  identical,  and  that  Columbus  landed  on 
the  west  side  of  this  island/'     And  with  this  conclusion  the 

,  weight  of  modern  authority  is  in  harmony. 

Watling's  Island,  Mr.  Cronau  informs  us,  is  the  only  one  of 
the  group,  that  has  the  form  of  a  bean,  excepting  New  Provi- 
dence, which  does  not  enter  into  the  question  ;  further,  that  it 
has  a  large  salt-water  lake  in  the  interior,  such  as  Columbus 
described,  and  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  a  mountain 
on  the  island,  as  the  ridges  that  divide  the  lagoons  are  but  100 
to  140  feet  high ;  also,  that  vegetation  here  corresponds  so  well 
with  the  praise  of  its  first  discoverer,  that  the  island  is  to  this 
day  known  as  "  the  garden  of  the  Bahamas."  He  is  of  the 
opinion  that  Columbus  must  have  discovered  the  island, 
coming  from  the  north,  and  landed  at  a  point  now  called 
Riding  Rocks,  where  there  is  a  settlement  of  the  name  of  Cock- 
burn  Town.  Elsewhere  surrounding  the  island  is  a  reef,  with 
a  very  narrow  entrance,  with  here  and  there  shallows,  but 
which  nevertheless  encloses  an  open  space  that  would  be  large 
enough  to  accommodate  large  fleets,  just  as  it  appears  in 
Columbus'  description.  Finally,  the  northeast  point  of  the 
island  corresponds  exactly  with  the  idea  of  a  place  for  a  forti- 
fication, described  by  the  Admiral ;  and  in  fact  Cronau  found 
here  a  cannon,  evidently  of  the  last  century,  which  shows  that 
others  have  seen  how  well  this  point  was  adapted  to  the  de- 
fense of  the  island. 

As  to  the  early  cartographical  representations  of  the  island, 
it  stands  on  the  chart  of  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  the  earliest  map  of 
America  that  we  possess,  very  nearly  in  the  same  relation  to 
Cuba  and  Hayti  as  Watling's  Island  does  on  the  modern  maps. 
However,  the  neighboring  small  islands  on  this  map  do  not 
agree  in  form  and  situation  with  modern  charts,  so  that  we 
cannot  consider  the  evidence  of  Cosa  as  of  much  weight.     But 

,  the  celebrated  Spanish  official  maps  of  1527  and  1529  respec- 
tively, which  are  in  the  grand-ducal  library  of  Weimar,  show 
the  island  of  Guanahani  conspicuously  drawn  in  the  form  of 
a  cross  with  a  number  of  small  dots  around  it.     The  position 


The  Development  of  the  Atlantic  Coast.  5 

of  this  island  on  these  maps  in  relation  to  Cuba,  Hayti,  Great 
Bahama,  and  other  neighboring  islands,  agrees  so  well  with 
that  of  Watling's  Island  on  modern  maps,  that  there  is  little 
room  for  reasonable  doubt,  that  the  makers  thereof  believed 
Guanahani  to  be  in  the  position  of  the  island  now  known  as 
Watling^s.  When  it  is  considered  that  these  maps  were  made 
in  Spain,  by  the  official  cartographers,  within  35  and  37  years 
of  the  original  discovery,  at  a  time  when  they  would  probably 
be  exposed  to  the  criticism  of  men  who  knew  the  island  per- 
sonally, it  seems  extremely  probable  that  Guanahani  and 
Watling's  Island  are  one  and  the  same. 

Leaving  Guanahani,  Columbus  next  visited  several  other 
small  islands  in  the  vicinity,  and  after  ten  days  reached  Cuba. 
It  was  probably  at  Nipe  Bay  that  he  first  sighted  this  great 
island,  whence  he  coasted  some  distance  to  the  northwest,  then 
turned  back  and  pursued  a  southeasterly  course  till  he  reached 
the  eastern  extremity  of  the  island,  from  which  point  he  could 
see  the  opposite  heights  of  Hayti,  toward  which  he  directed 
his  little  fleet.  Here  was  to  be  made,  later,  the  first  attempt 
in  modern  times  to  found  a  European  colony  in  the  Western 
Hemisphere ;  here  was  to  be  the  commencement  of  American 
political  geography.  Sailing  to  the  east,  he  sighted  the  island 
of  Tortuga,  but  clung  to  the  coast  of  Hayti  as  far  as  the 
present  bay  of  Samana,  where  he  halted  for  trade  with  the 
Indians ;  thence  he  followed  the  coast  far  enough  to  the  east 
and  south  to  convince  himself  that  the  body  of  land  was  an 
island.  Columbus  returned  thence  home,  to  spread  abroad 
the  news  of  his  discovery.  Arrived  at  the  Spanish  court, 
he  gave  a  detailed  description  of  his  voyage,  and  asked  for 
assistance  to  prosecute  his  discoveries  further.  American 
geography,  then,  in  the  spring  of  1493,  consisted  of  Colum- 
bus's chart  and  description  of  some  newly  found  islands  in  the 
far  off  west,  which  islands  were  believed  to  be  near  India. 

The  province  of  geography  is  not,  however,  to  follow  the 
fate  of  individuals  in  their  wanderings ;  but  rather,  in  our 
case,  to  gather  up  the  results  of  those  western  voyages  which 


6  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

opened  up  some  new  territory  to  the  consciousness  of  Europe, 
or  rendered  more  accurate  the  knowledge  of  that  previously 
discovered ;  and  also  to  see  how  this  knowledge  became  spread 
abroad  throughout  Christendom.  Travellers  are  usually  fond 
of  relating  their  adventures,  and  it  is  easy  for  them  to  procure 
an  audience.  Furthermore,  for  such  an  important  subject  as 
the  discovery  of  a  New  World,  which  title  soon  came  into  use, 
there  were  those  only  too  happy  to  write  down  the  narratives 
with  which  they  were  entertained.  Then  too  the  explorers 
themselves  had  often  to  make  report  of  results  to  those  fur- 
nishing the  means  of  prosecuting  the  work.  In  the  case  of 
Spain  these  reports  were  preserved  in  a  special  bureau  estab- 
lished for  the  purpose,  by  an  ordinance  of  January  20th,  1503. 
It  bore  the  name  of  "  Casa  de  la  Contratacion  de  las  Indias ; " 
and  its  records  now  form  one  of  the  most  valuable  sources  of 
our  knowledge  of  the  early  explorations.  Moreover,  there 
were  the  cosmographers,  whose  work  now  began  to  assume 
an  importance,  previously  unknown ;  while  the  then  newly 
invented  art  of  printing  added  greatly  in  dispersing  through- 
out Europe  a  knowledge  of  the  discoveries  made  by  the 
representatives  of  the  various  countries.  News-letters  and 
pamphlets  took  the  place  of  the  present  daily  papers ;  and  a 
book  that  became  popular  in  one  language  was  very  likely  to 
be  translated  into  others.  The  information  thus  conveyed 
was  often  far  from  correct;  and  many  fables  were  thereby 
circulated  in  regard  to  the  wonders  of  the  New  World. 

On  his  return  from  the  j&rst  voyage,  Columbus  landed  first 
in  Portugal,  where  the  news  of  his  discoveries  was  soon  noised 
abroad.  In  Spain,  he  came  in  contact  with  Peter  Martyr, 
who  wrote  letters  on  the  discoveries  to  various  great  person- 
ages in  Italy.  In  September  of  the  same  year,  1493,  the 
queen  demands  of  Columbus  a  chart  of  his  voyage,  which  is 
delivered ;  and  this,  or  a  later  one,  came  into  the  hands  of 
Ojeda,  an  enemy  of  Columbus,  who  used  it  in  1499  during 
the  latter's  absence  in  the  New  World,  to  direct  his  course  to 
the  west,  in  the  attempt  to  outdo  Columbus  in  his  own  field. 


The  Development  of  the  Atlantic  Coast.  7 

To  Genoa,  news  of  the  discovery  was  soon  carried  by  the 
ambassadors  Marchesi  and  Grimaldi.  In  March,  1494,  the 
government  of  Florence  received  written  notices  of  the  dis- 
covery in  the  great  ocean,  of  islands  where  the  Spaniards  had 
found  naked  inhabitants,  who  gave  for  a  pin  gold  to  the  value 
of  several  ducats.  In  the  following  month  of  June^  the  sub- 
ject was  mentioned  in  an  important  public  address  in  Rome. 
During  his  third  voyage,  Columbus  forwarded  to  Spain  a 
map  of  the  coast  of  South  America  just  discovered  ;  and  there 
is  a  report  of  his  having  sent  a  map  to  the  pope  the  same  year ; 
but  whether  it  was  a  copy  of  the  last-mentioned  or  an  entirely 
different  map,  we  are  not  informed.  The  Venetian  govern- 
ment, about  the  same  time,  ordered  its  ambassadors  to  make 
special  efforts  to  procure  information  concerning  the  new 
discoveries ;  and  they  accordingly  approached  Columbus  and 
Peter  Martyr  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  maps  and  accurate 
descriptions  of  the  lands  discovered. 

From  Spain  and  its  discoveries  in  the  south,  we  turn  for 
a  moment  to  England  and  the  exploration  of  the  north. 
Although  a  recent  writer  says  :  "  The  credit  of  being  the  first 
to  explore  our  Atlantic  coast  has  not  yet  been  positively 
awarded  by  critical  historians,^'  yet  we  are  disposed  to  accept 
for  our  geographical  purposes  the  generally  accredited  account 
of  Cabot's  discovery  of  the  coast  of  ]S"orth  America  in  the 
year  1497.  His  landfall  was  probably  Cape  Breton  or  there- 
abouts. During  that  and  subsequent  voyages,  Sebastian  Cabot, 
who  at  first  accompanied  his  father  and  was  afterwards  com- 
mander, explored  with  more  or  less  accuracy  the  eastern  coast 
of  the  western  continent  from  67J  degrees  north,  southward, 
perhaps  as  far  as  Chesapeake  Bay.  He  was  the  first  to  pro- 
pose a  northwest  passage  to  Cathay,  the  name  of  China  then 
usual  in  Europe,  on  the  ground  that  by  the  adoption  of  what 
is  now  known  as  great  circle  sailing,  one  would  take  the 
shortest  route  thither.  Cabot's  exploring  activity  continued 
many  years,  in  the  service  of  Spain  and  England,  and  he  is 
supposed  to  have  died  in  the  latter  country  about  1557.     It 


8  America:   Its  Geographical  History, 

was  chiefly  through  him  that  Great  Britain  derived  its  claim, 
by  right  of  discovery,  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard  of  North 
America.  In  the  meantime,  others  had  visited  the  eastern 
coast,  of  whose  voyages  we  possess  no  detailed  accounts,  but  of 
which  early  maps  seem  to  have  preserved  to  us  evidence  of 
the  actuality  of  their  knowledge. 

The  investigations  of  M.  Harrisse  have  brought  to  light 
the  fact  that  the  Portuguese  were,  at  a  very  early  period, 
certainly  before  1 502,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America  ; 
for  he  not  only  finds  evidence  thereof  in  contemporary  letters, 

I  but  also  undeniable  proof  in  the  Cantino  map,  which  he  has 
edited  and  published  in  facsimile.  This  is  a  very  large  map 
which  was  carried  in  that  year  from  Portugal  to  Ercole  d'Este, 
duke  of  Ferrara,  by  a  man  named  Cantino,  whose  function  in 
Portugal  is  not  known.  On  this  map  the  southern  portion  of 
Greenland  is  quite  well  depicted  ;  and  to  the  southwest  thereof 
is  drawn  a  coast-line  which  is  probably  that  of  Newfoundland, 
though  its  position  is  very  far  to  the  east.  Apparently  unmis- 
takable is  the  coast  of  Florida,  and  its  extensions  to  the  north 
on  the  Atlantic  sea-board  and  to  the  west  on  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  But  opinion  on  the  subject  is  much  divided,  some 
authorities  seeing  therein  only  a  repetition  of  Cuba,  arising 
from  a  misunderstanding  of  Spanish  accounts  of  the  dis- 
coveries in  the  western  hemisphere.  All  authorities  agree, 
however,  that  this  is  the  type  if  not  original  of  many  of  the 
later  maps  known  to  us. 

The  southern  part  of  the  continent,  however,  was  destined 
to  be  brought  earlier  than  the  northern  into  more  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  Europeans ;  so  we  ask  again  attention  to 
that  portion.     There  exists  indeed  a  map  of  the  fourteenth 

^  century,  made  by  an  Italian,  a  certain  Zeno,  who  passed  some 
time  in  Iceland  and  the  far  north,  on  which  is  portrayed  what 
is  supposed  to  be  a  portion  of  North  America,  according  to 
the  ideas  or  knowledge  of  the  Icelanders.  But  as  this  map 
was  not  made  known  to  the  public  till  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  we  may  pass  it  by,  and  turn  to  the  oldest  map 


The  Development  of  the  Atlantic  Coast.  9 

known  to  us  on  which  is  given  a  representation  of  America 
as  it  was  actually  known.  This  is  the  map  of  Juan  de  la 
Cosa,  one  of  the  companions  of  Columbus;  and  bears  the 
date  1500.  The  original  is  a  large  map  of  the  then  known 
world,  drawn  on  an  oxhide,  with  elaborate  gilding  and  color- 
ing, and  is  still  preserved  at  Madrid.  The  western  portion 
gives  the  results  of  Spanish  explorations  up  to  that  date.  It 
represents  also  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  but  trending  entirely  too  much  to  the  east. 
The  northern  line  of  South  America  is  also  given,  and  that 
naturally  with  greater  accuracy  than  the  other,  as  it  was  the 
part  known  directly  by  the  Spaniards,  while  they  probably 
knew  only  by  report,  of  Cabot's  discovery  in  the  north. 
Between  the  northern  and  southern  portions,  the  only  con- 
nection is  by  means  of  a  vignette ;  for  that  portion  of  the 
continent  was  as  yet  unknown ;  and  a  tradition  later  spread 
abroad  that  a  strait  existed  there,  leading  to  oriental  waters. 
No  general  name  is  given  to  all  the  new  lands  discovered,  for 
it  was  still  believed  that  they  were  a  part  of  Asia.  The  prin- 
cipal north  .and  south  line  is  marked  "  Xma  Meridio7ial,^'  and 
is  intended  to  represent  the  line  of  demarcation  which  had 
been  agreed  upon  between  Spain  and  Portugal,  in  their  famous 
division  of  the  then  unexplored  world.  It  passes  through  the 
northeastern  part  of  North  America,  and  cuts  off  a  small 
corner  of  South  America.  The  equator  and  tropics  are  also 
given  ;  but  so  faulty  was  the  knowledge  of  latitude  that  Cuba 
and  Hayti,  are  both  placed  entirely  north  of  the  Tropic  of 
Cancer,  although,  in  fact  both  are  entirely  south  of  it.  We 
are  not  accustomed  to  think  that  by  the  year  1500  the  Span- 
iards knew  much,  if  anything,  of  the  coast  of  North  America ; 
yet  on  this  map  there  are  no  less  than  seventeen  names  there, 
a  fact  which  shows  that  Cosa  already  had  some  knowledge  of 
the  English  voyages  to  the  New  World.  The  interior,  of 
which  nothing  was  known,  is  ornamented  with  lakes  and 
rivers  thrown  in  ad  libitum.  The  coast  of  South  America  is 
supplied  with  many  names,  some  of  which  are  still  in  use. 


10  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

(Mr.  Winsor,  speaking  of  the  original,  says  there  are  45  names 
here.)  Among  others  we  find  "  C.  de  la  Vela/'  a  name  now 
borne  by  a  city  in  the  same  neighborhood ;  "  Venezueda," 
which  is  none  other  than  the  modern  Venezuela  or  little 
Venice;  and  was  so  named  in  1499  by  Ojeda,  because  the 
houses  were  built  on  piles  in  a  manner  that  reminded  him  of 
Venice.  Here  is  also  "  I.  de  Brasil,"  a  name  afterwards  trans- 
ferred to  the  whole  Portuguese  possessions  on  the  mainland. 
The  island  now  known  as  Hayti  and  San  Domingo  bears  the 
name  "La  Espagnola,"  conferred  upon  it  by  Columbus  because 
its  landscape  reminded  him  much  of  Spain.  Nine  local  names 
are  on  it,  one  of  which  is  Domingo,  on  the  southeastern  coast, 
the  name  now  used  to  designate  the  whole  eastern  half  of  the 
island;  while  the  name  Hayti,  now  applied  to  the  western 
portion  of  the  island,  occurs  on  the  map  under  consideration  in 
the  form  "  Haiti,"  which  means  "  mountainous  country,"  and 
designates  a  small  island  lying  to  the  north  of  "  La  Espagnola." 
The  name  Guanahani  is  here  given  to  a  small  outlying  island, 
with  Samana  south  of  it.  The  island  of  Cuba  ^  receives  its 
present  name  on  this  map,  although  Columbus  had  called  it 
luana. 

La  Cosa's  representation  of  Cuba  has  given  rise  to  much 
discussion,  in  as  much  as  Columbus,  on  his  second  voyage, 
required  from  his  companions  an  oath  to  the  effect  that  they 
believed  it  to  be  a  part  of  the  main  land.  On  this  map,  how- 
ever, it  is  distinctly  represented  as  an  island.  Mr.  Stevens 
contended  that  the  western  portion  is  in  green,  a  color  used  by 
La  Cosa  to  designate  unknown  land.  In  the  fac-simile  of 
Jomard,^  in  the  Astor  Library  of  New  York,  the  color  of  the 
western  portion  is  not  at  all  different  from  that  of  the  rest  of 

1  Mr.  Winsor  in  Nar.  and  Orit.  Hist.,  II,  182-3,  falls  into  the  error  of 
ascribing  the  first  use  of  this  name  as  designating  that  island  to  the  "  Cos- 
mographicus  liber  "  of  Apianus,  published  in  1524. 

*  Mr.  Stevens  himself  acknowledges  that  he,  "  the  writer,  has  never  had 
under  his  eye  the  original  chart,  but  judges  only  from  Mr.  Jomard's  excel- 
lent colored  fac-simile."     Notes,  p.  34,  note. 


The  Development  of  the  Atlantic  Coast.  11 

the  island,  and  is  a  yellowish-brown,  with  no  resemblance  to 
the  green  of  the  unknown  interior  of  the  mainland.  More- 
over, not  only  is  a  western  coast-line  distinctly  drawn,  but  still 
further  to  the  west  are  other  islands  intervening  between  this 
coast  and  the  mainland.  Now  La  Cosa  had  subscribed  to  the 
oath,  and  had  even  added  that  he  had  never  heard  "  of  any 
island  335  leagues  long,  and  hence  he  believed  Cuba  to  be  in 
Asia^'  (Ibid. J  p.  12).  But  the  Indians  had  told  Columbus 
on  his  first  voyage  that  it  was  an  island ;  and  there  is 
every  possibility  of  Cosa's  having  changed  his  mind  be- 
tween 1494,  when  he  subscribed  to  that  oath,  and  1500 
when  he  drew  the  map,  particularly  as  he  had  in  the  mean- 
time made  another  voyage  to  the  New  World.  Officially, 
Cuba  was  not  circumnavigated  before  the  year  1508  ;  yet  Mr. 
Winsor  has,  in  his  recent  work  on  Columbus,  expressed  the 
opinion  that  its  insularity  was  perhaps  previously  known,  not- 
withstanding the  vigorous  protest  against  that  view  published 
by  Mr.  Stevens  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Coote.  The  latter, 
of  the  British  Museum,  in  his  introduction  to  Stevens  on 
Schoener,  makes  merry  at  the  credulity  of  Mr.  Harrisse,  Mr. 
Winsor  and  others,  who  interpret  the  Cantino  map  and 
similar  ones  as  evidence  of  the  existence  of  any  knowledge  of 
the  mainland  of  Florida  before  its  discoverj^  by  Ponce  de 
Leon;  for  he  himself  sees  therein  only  a  "bogus  Cuba,'^ 
invented  by  the  Portuguese  from  a  misunderstanding  of  the 
facts  as  reported  from  Spain  ;  and,  as  Spain  tried  to  keep  her 
knowledge  to  herself,  and  the  Portuguese  were  free  to  spread 
broadcast  their  maps  of  Spanish  possessions  in  the  New  World, 
the  latter  became  known  and  largely  copied  throughout  Europe, 
thus  disseminating  false  ideas  which  it  took  a  long  time  to 
eradicate.  Mr.  Coote  finds  strono-  confirmatory  evidence  of 
his  theory  in  the  fact  that  these  maps  transfer  more  or  less  of 
the  names  that  Columbus  applied  to  Cuba,  to  what  appears 
to  represent  the  mainland.  However,  that  does  not  alter  the 
fact  that  Cosa  himself  depicts  Cuba  distinctly  as  an  island. 
His  mainland  is  indeed  different  from  that  drawn  by  Cantino 


12  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

and  other  representatives  of  the  Portuguese  idea;  but  he  doubt- 
less intended  to  represent  that  mainland  as  part  of  Asia. 

We  have  seen  how  England  soon  followed  in  the  wake  of 
the  Spaniards  to  the  New  World.  In  the  year  1 500  the  Portu- 
guese navigator  Cabral  reached  the  coast  of  South  America, 
driven  thither  perhaps  by  adverse  winds,  or  seeking  a  lost  ship 
of  his  fleet,  or  going  so  far  to  the  west  merely  to  avoid  the 
prevailing  winds  on  the  coast  of  Africa, — for  all  these  differing 
opinions  are  held  by  various  writers.     As  early  as  1503  the 

j  French  also  reached  the  coast  of  Brazil;  in  1504  they  com- 
menced fishing  near  Newfoundland;  and  as  early  as  1506 
their  hardy  sailors  had  gained  a  knowledge  of  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence,  which  was  embodied  in  a  map  by  one  Denys,  of 
Honfleur.  Thus  the  sixteenth  century  opens  with  the  mari- 
time nations  of  Europe  full  of  curiosity  as  to  the  New  World, 
and  possessed  of  bold  navigators  ready  and  anxious  to  do  all 
in  their  power  to  explore  its  mysteries.  The  Atlantic  became 
a  great  highway ;  a*nd  almost  every  year  saw  new  expeditions 
sent  forth  in  search  of  wealth  and  fame.  The  Spaniards  ex- 
tended their  explorations  both  to  the  north  and  south  ;  the 
English  found  it  expedient  on  the  whole  to  confine  themselves 
to  the  north ;  though  they  did  not  hesitate  to  make  piratical 
cruises  against  Spanish  ships  returning  to  the  mother  country 
laden  with  the  spoils  of  the  west ;  the  French  essayed  explora- 
tions along  almost  the  entire  Atlantic  coast  of  the  western 
continent,  meeting  with  opposition  wherever  they  went, — on 
the  north  from  the  English,  on  the  south  from  the  Spanish. 
The  curiosity  of  all  Christendom  had  been  aroused  as  to  the 
discoveries  made  in  the  New  World;  but  each  exploring 
nation  endeavored  to  keep  its  knowledge  to  itself.  Accord- 
ingly we  find  that  the  best  dispersers  of  this  knowledge  were 

I  the  non-exploring  nations, — the  Italians,  the  Germans,  and 
later  the  Dutch.  The  first  book  containing  a  collection  of 
voyages,  of  which  a  copy  is  known  to  exist,  was  made  by  a 
Venetian  diplomate  in  Spain,  Angelo  Trivigiano,  who  trans- 
lated several  reports  of  voyages,  collected  letters,  and  pub- 


The  Development  of  the  Atlantic  Coast.  13 

lished  them  all  together  in  the  year  1507.  Within  a  year 
afterwards  two  translations  of  the  same  were  published,  a 
Latin  one  in  Milan  and  a  German  one  in  Nuremberg. 

In  the  1508  edition  of  Ptolemy  there  is  a  map  of  the  world, 
thought  by  Humboldt  to  be  the  work  of  Johann  Ruysch.  It 
is  in  the  form  of  an  open  fan,  representing  somewhat  more 
than  a  quarter  circle.  The  north  pole  is  at  the  apex,  while 
the  outer  rim  represents  about  the  38th  degree  of  south  lati- 
tude. The  then  known  coast  of  North  America  is  attached 
to  the  north-east  of  Asia  ;  here  the  name  "  In.  Baccalauras," 
a  designation  often  given  to  Newfoundland,  is  applied  to  a 
diminutive  island,  in  a  bay  enclosed  by  "C.  de  Portugesi," 
which  cape  forms  the  extremity  of  a  long  peninsula  bearing 
the  name  '^  Terra  nova."  Thence  the  coast-line  trends  to  the 
west,  and  connects  with  "  Gog,"  "  Magog,"  and  other  places 
bearing  names  at  that  time  given  to  portions  of  Asia.  East 
of  the  mainland,  there  extends  from  a  scroll  a  broad  land  on 
which  there  are  half  a  dozen  names  not  nOw  in  use.  Of  South 
America  only  the  north  and  east  coasts  are  given.  The  region 
bears  the  legend :  "  Terra  Sanctae  Crucis  Sive  Mundus 
Novus."  Among  other  names  on  the  north  coast,  we  find 
"  Terr,  de  Pareas "  and  "  Golfo  de  Pareas,"  names  probably 
conferred  by  Columbus  himself.  Mr.  Winsor  remarks  that 
^'  it  is  thought  that  Ruysch  used  Columbus'  draughts."  "  Rio 
Grande  "  is  probably  meant  for  the  Orinoco.  The  "Jordan  " 
river  finds  place  just  south  of  the  Tropic  of  Capricorn,  a 
name  long  borne  by  the  present  Rio  de  la  Plata.  An  inscrip- 
tion says  "  Nauti  Lusitani  "  had  penetrated  to  50°  S.  without 
finding  the  southern  extremity  of  the  land.  Among  the 
islands  we  find  the  names  :  "  Spagnola,"  "  Le  XI  Mil  Vir- 
gines,"  "  Martinina,"  "  La  Dominica,"  and  "  Antillia  Insula." 

In  1512  there  was  published  in  Cracow,  the  ancient  capital 
of  Poland,  an  edition  of  the  Geography  of  Ptolemy  which 
contains  a  map  of  the  world,  on  which  America  finds  place. 
The  map  is  drawn  in  a  network  of  meridians  and  parallels  at 
intervals  of  ten  degrees,  and  the  tropics  also  are  added.     This 


14  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

is  one  of  those  maps  before  alluded  to,  which  are  opeu  to 
discussion  as  to  whether  what  appears  to  be  Florida  and  the 
mainland  of  America  are  not  a  duplicate  Cuba.  The  name 
"  isabello,"  which  really  belonged  to  Cuba,  and  is  here  placed 
on  what  seems  to  be  Florida,  certainly  tends  to  confirm  Mr. 
Coote's  idea.  Another  feature  of  these  maps  is  that  they 
represent  the  supposed  Florida  as  entirely  west  of  the  longitude 
of  Cuba,  instead  of  north  of  its  western  part,  as  it  in  reality 
is.  Of  South  America,  the  northern  and  eastern  portions  are 
fairly  well  represented,  while  the  western  portion  is  closed  by 
two  straight  lines,  which  form  an  obtuse  angle  projecting 
inland.  Some  names  are  on  the  continent  and  are  difficult  to 
decipher.  Cuba  and  ''Spagnola"  are  misplaced  and  some- 
what out  of  proportion. 

There  are  still  preserved,  in  various  parts  of  the  world, 
three  globes  and  the  gores  of  a  fourth  from  the  early  part 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  which  Messrs.  Stevens  and  Coote 
believe  to  be  all  from  the  same  hand,  namely  that  of  Johanu 
Schoener,  "  the  most  distinguished  professor  of  mathematics 
and  geography  then  in  Germany.''  The  oldest  of  these  is 
probably  that  known  as  the  Hunt-Lenox  globe,  in  the  Lenox 
Library  of  New  York,  and  possibly  made  as  early  as  1 505  or 
1507.  It  is  of  copper,  about  4J  inches  in  diameter,  and  rep- 
resents America  as  a  number  of  islands.  The  next  one  in 
point  of  age  is  known  as  the  Frankfort  globe,  because  pre- 
served in  that  city,  and  dates  probably  from  about  the  year 
1515.  The  third  and  most  important  one  is  preserved  in 
Nuremberg,  and  dates  from  the  year  1520.  On  this  is  repre- 
sented far  to  the  north  "  Terra  Corterealis,"  near  which  is  the 
inscription  "Anno  Christi  1501."  Here  again  we  find  the 
name  Cuba  applied  to  what  appears  to  be  the  mainland  of 
America,  which  extends  from  near  the  equator  to  55  or  60 
degrees  north.  It  also  bears  the  name  "  Farias,"  one  of  the 
names  connected  with  South  America  ever  since  the  days  of 
Columbus,  and  which  is  in  fact  repeated  in  South  America  on 
this  globe.     Notwithstanding  this  fact  it  is  difficult  to  believe 


The  Development  of  the  Atlantic  Coast.  15 

that  the  existence  of  Florida  was  not  known  in  the  year  ]  520, 
especially  to  a  man  of  Schoener^s  knowledge.  The  fourth 
globe,  or  rather  set  of  gores,  ascribed  to  the  same  hand,  is  re- 
ferred to  the  year  1523,  and  a  copy  of  it  is  published  with  the 
others,  in  Coote's  edition  of  Stevens  on  Schoener.  It  is  very 
simple,  and  contains  but  few  names.  However,  that  of  Florida 
is  especially  worthy  of  notice,  as  this  is  perhaps  the  oldest 
drawing  on  which  it  appears. 

Though,  as  we  have  seen,  there  were  Frenchmen  in  the 
New  World  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  century,  the  first 
official  expedition  which  that  government  sent  to  America 
was  in  1524.  This  was  placed  under  the  command  of 
Giovanni  Yerrazano,  a  Florentine  by  birth,  who,  at  an  early 
age,  entered  the  service  of  King  Francis  I.  of  France,  and 
became  a  most  successful  corsair  against  the  Spanish.  He 
first  touched  the  western  continent  at  about  34  degrees  north 
latitude,  perhaps  at  Cape  Fear.  Thence  he  sailed  50  leagues 
toward  the  south,  and  then  directing  his  vessel  northward,  he 
explored  the  coasts  for  three  months,  reaching  probably  to 
Newfoundland.  The  journal  of  the  voyage  which  remains  to 
us  "  mentions  only  one  date  and  names  but  one  locality," — 
which  facts  account  for  our  vague  knowledge  of  the  results 
of  the  expedition.  "  It  is  probable,"  says  H.  H.  Bancroft, 
^*  that  a  large  part  of  the  United  States  coast  was  for  the  first 
time  explored  during  this  voyage,  which  also  completed  the 
discovery  of  the  whole  eastern  shore-line  of  America,  except 
probably  a  short  but  indefinite  distance  in  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  between  the  limits  reached  by  Ponce  de  Leon  in  1513 
and  by  Verrazano ;  one  intermediate  point  having  also  been 
visited  by  Aillon  in  1520." 

In  the  two  succeeding  years,  Spaniards  were  on  the  coast  of 
the  present  United  States;  1525  witnessing  the  only  expedi- 
tion which  they  ever  sent  to  the  far  north,  that  of  Estevan 
Gomez,  who  explored  the  eastern  coasts  of  America  from  New- 
foundland to  an  unknown  distance  south,  at  any  rate  below 
New  York,  and  possibly  to  Georgia  or  Florida.     The  next 


16     .  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

year  came  Aillon,  who  first  touched  at  South  Carolina,  at  the 
mouth  of  a  river  which  he  called  the  Jordan,  and  sailed  thence 
some  distance  northward  "  at  least  to  Cape  Fear,  and  probably 
much  farther." 

In  the  grand-ducal  library  of  Weimar  there  is  a  large  map 
on  parchment,  made  in  the  year  1627,  by  an  anonymous  cos- 
mographer  of  the  Spanish  king,  at  Seville.  It  is  seven  feet, 
two  inches  long,  and  two  feet,  ten  inches  wide,  and  represents 
the  then  known  w^orld.  It  is  framed  and  under  glass,  and  is 
justly  considered  one  of  the  great  treasures  of  the  library. 
Just  how  it  came  there,  is  not  known ;  but  Kohl,  who  has 
published  a  facsimile  of  the  American  part,  supposes  that  it 
was  carried  to  Germany  by  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  as  an 
official  map  of  reference,  during  one  of  his  voyages  from  Spain. 
As  to  the  name  of  the  cosmographer  who  made  it,  opinions 
differ;  Kohl  inclining  to  the  belief  that  it  is  the  work  of 
Ferdinand  Columbus,  son  of  the  admiral,  while  Harrisse 
ascribes  it  to  Nulla  Garcia  de  Toreno,  and  Coote,  in  editing 
Stevens  on  Schoener,  thinks  it  the  work  of  Ribero,  and  a  pre- 
cursor of  his  map  of  1529,  which  is  also  in  the  same  room  at 
Weimar.  A  careful  comparison  of  the  two,  it  seems  to  us, 
can  scarcely  fail  to  convince  the  unprejudiced  mind  that  the 
latter  supposition  is  the  most  natural.  The  points  of  similarity 
are  so  great  in  non-essentials,  such  as  the  astrolabe,  the  quad- 
rant, the  scrolls  containing  names,  etc.,  the  very  matters  wherein 
the  copier  of  another  man's  geographical  work  would  be  most 
likely  to  desire  to  show  originality ;  while  there  is  no  slavish 
copying  of  names,  wherein  the  latter  work  is  much  more  full 
and  explicit,  indicating  that  the  two  years  intervening  between 
the  making  of  the  maps  had  been  spent  in  gathering  new 
information,  which  was  applied  without  any  reference  to  a 
show  of  slavish  consistency  with  the  former  work ;  while  at 
the  same  time,  favorite  fancies  of  ornament  were  apparently 
retained  unconsciously. 

The  maps  are  drawn  in  plane  projection,  with  compass 
lines,  and  also  with  the  equator,  tropics,  and  polar  circles. 


The  Development  of  the  Atlantic  Coast,  17 

Perhaps  the  most  noticeable  feature,  after  the  beauty  of  the 
work,  is  the  absence  of  imaginary  lands,  which  are  so 
prominent  on  most  of  the  maps  of  that  age.  The  principal 
meridian  is  drawn  through  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  from 
which  was  to  be  measured  the  distance  to  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  possessions  of  Spain  and  Portugal ; 
and  that  line,  marked  by  the  flags  of  the  two  countries  on 
either  side,  is  placed  according  to  the  Spanish  interpretation 
of  the  treaty  of  Tordesillas,  by  which  the  two  governments 
had  sought  to  settle  their  differences  in  reference  to  the 
matter. 

This  line  passes  through  '^  Tierra  de  los  Bretones,'^  lying 
between  45  and  50  degrees  of  north  latitude ;  it  crosses  the 
northern  coast-line  of  South  America  at  the  equator,  somewhat 
west  of  the  mouth  of  a  large  river  bearing  the  name  *^  Mara- 
hom,''  meant  for  Maranon,  an  old  namefor  the  Amazon  ;  and 
it  continues  through  the  continent  to  the  mouth  of  the 
"  R.  Jordan,^'  now  the  La  Plata,  in  35  degrees  south.  This 
Portuguese  })art  of  South  America  receives  its  present  name  of 
"  El  Brasil."  The  map  gives  an  almost  unbroken  coast-line 
from  62  degrees  north  to  54  degrees  south,  abandoning  the 
old  idea  of  a  strait  somewhere  between  these  two  points ;  and 
instead,  represents  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  the  existence  of 
which  had  now  been  known  in  Spain  for  five  years.  The 
northern  extremity  of  the  map  is  occupied  by  a  territory 
designated  as  "  Tiera  del  Labrador,"  a  name  which  is  probably 
the  only  remnant  of  Portuguese  exploration  in  North  America. 
The  coast  is  drawn  in  an  east  and  west  line,  lying  between 
55°  and  60°  of  latitude,  containing  no  other  names,  and  sep- 
arated by  a  narrow  strait  from  the  coast  lying  to  the  west. 
The  latter  is  called  "  Los  Bacallaos,''  and  is  provided  with 
14  names,  none  of  which,  to  my  knowledge,  are  now  in  use. 
To  the  south-west  of  this  region  is  the  "  Tierra  de  los  Bretones," 
already  mentioned,  on  which  there  are  two  local  names.  Here 
a  large  river,  flowing  from  the  north  empties  its  waters 
into  a  prominent  bay ;  this  may  be  the  Penobscot,  but  it  is 
2 


18  America:   Its  Geogy^aphical  History. 

practically  impossible  to  determine  positively  which  river  is 
thereby  meant.  Between  this  and  "  La  Florida/'  there  are 
11  local  names,  to  which  are  added  4  on  the  west  side  of  the 
latter.  Then  follow  16  names  which  are  of  no  special  interest 
to  us;  but  the  17th  is  the  designation  of  a  river  flowing 
into  a  prominent  bay,  which  is  generally  taken  to  mean  the 
Mississippi,  and  here  receives  the  name  *^R.  del  spiritu  sancto." 
Keeping  on  to  the  southwest,  we  find  the  15th  name,  "R. 
Panuco,"  one  of  the  earliest  names  on  the  continent  of  North 
America  which  is  still  in  use.  Then  follow  21  more  names 
to  the  little  islands  represented  between  the  mainland  and 
"  Ivcatan,"  which  is  also  shown  as  an  island.  The  country 
southwest  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  receives  the  name  adopted 
by  Cortes,  when  he  had  conquered  it  a  few  years  previous, 
namely  '^  Nova  Spana."  It  is  also  worthy  of  remark  that  the 
name  "  Mexico "  is  found  inland,  and  is  doubtless  intended 
for  the  city  of  Mexico,  which  was  however  at  that  time 
generally  called  Temixtitlan.  The  latter  is  said  to  be  a 
Spanish  corruption  of  the  more  usual  aboriginal  Tenochtitlan, 
and  Mexico  was  one  of  its  wards  or  districts.  Another  deri- 
vation is  from  Mexitli  the  Aztec  war-god  (Isaac  Taylor, 
TForc?s  and  Places),  Central  America  has  20  names  on  the 
north  coast.  South  America's  coast-line  is  thickly  dotted  with 
local  names,  of  which  we  have  already  mentioned  several. 
As  to  the  West  Indies  we  would  expect  to  find  quite  an  accu- 
rate knowledge  displayed,  and  in  this  we  are  not  disappointed. 
Leaving  aside  the  more  prominent  islands,  which  are  already 
on  earlier  maps  drawn  with  tolerable  accuracy,  we  note  here 
"La  bermuda;"  also  "barbudos,"  which  is  probably  the 
Barbuda  of  to-day.  No  imaginary  antarctic  continent  is  here 
depicted,  as  was  at  that  time,  and  even  much  later,  so  custom- 
ary on  maps ;  but  there  is  represented  only  the  short  coast-line 
of  the  strait  through  which  Magellan  had  passed,  south  of 
which  is  the  name  he  gave  to  those  lands,  "tierra  del  fuegos." 
To  the  strait  he  gave  the  name  "  Victoria,"  after  one  of  his 


The  Development  of  the  Atlantie  Coast.  19 

ships ;    but  this  map  shows  that  officially  his  own  name  had 
been  already  conferred  on  his  greatest  discovery.^ 

Diego  Ribero's  map  of  1529  is  of  almost  exactly  the  same 
size  as  that  of  1527,  and  the  comparison  of  the  two  affords  a 
good  object  lesson  in  historical  geography.  Especially  strik- 
ing is  this  in  the  case  of  Peru,  the  coast  of  which  had  been 
explored  by  Pizarro  in  1525-27,  but  news  of  which  must  have 
reached  Spain  too  late  to  be  incorporated  in  the  map  of  1527. 
The  later  map  is  also  richly  provided  with  historical  remarks, 
manifesting  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  cartographer  to  embody 
in  his  work  all  the  information  possible.  In  outline  the  At- 
lantic coast  on  both  maps  is  almost  identical ;  but  much  more 
knowledge  of  detail  is  embodied  in  the  later  one.  This  is 
marked  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  present  United  States, 
where  the  results  of  the  voyages  of  Ayllon  and  Gomez  find 
place  on  the  later  map.  While  there  are  but  fourteen  names 
between  Florida  and  Bacallaos  on  the  map  of  1527,  that  of 
1529  contains  more  than  thirty  in  the  same  space,  besides 
several  historical  remarks.  On  the  latter  are  also  embodied 
the  results  of  the  ill-fated  voyage  of  Sebastian  Cabot  in  1526, 
by  which  the  waters  of  the  I'iver  Plata  and  its  chief  tributaries 
were  first  made  known  to  Europeans.  Mexico  is  well  drawn, 
and  gives  the  results  of  Cortes'  conquest,  including  the  Villa 
Rica  de  la  Vera  Cruz,  which  he  founded,  and  which,  after 
two  removes,  may  be  considered  the  beginning  of  the  modern 
city  of  Vera  Cruz.  "Ivcatan"  is  better  shaped  than  before, 
but  still  continues  to  be  represented  as  an  island.  Cuba  is 
represented  as  extending  through  twelve  degrees  of  longitude 
and  four  of  latitude,  a  nearer  approach  to  its  real  extent  than 
was  usual  in  those  days.  On  this  map,  we  see  for  the  first 
time,  I  believe,  the  name  "  Haiti "  applied  to  Espagnola ; 
and  "  S.  Domingo ''  is  its  principal  settlement.  In  fact  there 
are  on  this  map  quite  a  number  of  names  with  familiar  aspect. 


^  Mr.  Hale  in  Winsor's  Nar.  and  Crit.  Hist.  (II,  604),  says  that  the  name 
of  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins  was  given  to  the  strait  by  Magellan. 


20  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

Here  are  Cape  San  Antonio  and  Cape  Cruz  in  Cuba ;  Peru 
for  the  first  time ;  also  "  Guatimala,"  and  the  rivers  Parana, 
Uruay,  evidently  the  present  Uruguay,  and  Paraguay ;  here 
is  also  "  Tiera  de  Papagones,^'  the  land  of  the  Patagonians  or 
big-footed  giants,  about  the  existence  of  whom  there  has  been 
so  much  controversy.  The  name  "  Tierra  de  los  Fuegos " 
reminds  us  of  the  fires  that  Magellan  saw  there  w^hen  entering 
the  strait,  whose  discovery  and  the  consequent  first  circum- 
navigation of  the  earth  have  made  his  name  famous ;  and  the 
little  settlements  of  Darien,  Panama,  and  Cartagena  call 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  maps  of  the  new  world  were 
some  day  to  wear  a  political  aspect.  The  rivers  Panuco  and 
San  Francisco,  the  islands  of  Cozumel  and  Trinidad,  the  capes 
Catoche  and  St.  Augustine,  are  so  familiar  to  us  that,  on  this 
map,  we  begin  to  feel  at  home. 

Such  maps  as  these  two  treasures  of  the  Weimar  library  go 
very  far  toward  raising  our  respect  for  the  cosmographers  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  The  American  part  of  them  has  been 
published  in  fac-siraile,  together  with  a  long  dissertation,  by 
Dr.  Kohl,  which  can  be  found  in  a  number  of  our  libraries. 
Rough  sketches  of  these  and  other  maps,  such  as  have  been 
published  in  great  numbers  during  recent  years,  give  one  no 
adequate  idea  of  the  originals.  These  sketches  are  indeed 
useful  to  the  seeker  after  historical  knowledge ;  and  we  are 
greatly  indebted  to  the  historians  whose  works  are  so  richly 
illustrated  with  them ;  if,  however,  our  national  government 
had  a  just  idea  of  the  dignity  and  usefulness  of  history,  it 
would  make  generous  provision  for  the  publication  of  fac- 
similes of  all  the  leading  maps  bearing  on  our  history ;  and 
could  thereby  make  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  celebration  of  the 
four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America. 

Already  at  the  end  of  the  third  decade  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury we  find  the  Spanish  government,  at  least,  in  possession 
of  knowledge  in  quite  an  accurate  degree,  of  the  north  and 
east  coasts  of  South  America,  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the 
West  India  Islands,  together  with  a  less  accurate  acquaintance 


The  Development  of  the  Atlantic  Coast,  21 

with  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States  and  further  north. 
But  the  Spanish  government  kept  this  knowledge  so  far  as 
possible  within  its  own  realms ;  and  other  nations  did  much 
to  bring  a  knowledge  of  those  regions  into  the  consciousness 
of  Europe  at  large.  In  noticing  later  maps,  we  shall  leave 
aside  then  what  they  contain  as  to  the  parts  already  accurately 
represented,  and  confine  our  attention  to  the  furtherance  of 
knowledge  of  those  coasts,  which,  up  to  the  period  where  we 
now  leave  off,  were  not  at  all  or  only  inaccurately  known  in 
Europe. 


II. 

Development  of  Pacific-Coast  Geography. 

A  general  idea  of  the  discovery  of  the  Pacific  seems  to  be, 
that  Balboa  and  his  companions  took  a  promenade  one  day  to 
the  top  of  a  hill  in  the  vicinity  of  their  settlement,  whence  they 
descried  with  wonder  the  broad  expanse  of  that  mighty  ocean ; 
then  with  boyish  glee,  ran  down  the  slope,  dashed  into  the 
water,  and  with  a  flourish,  took  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of 
their  sovereign.  How  different  from  the  reality  !  Selecting 
carefully  190  of  the  hardiest  men  in  the  little  settlement  of 
Antigua,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  South  America,  Yasco 
Nufiez  de  Balboa  sailed  four  days  toward  the  northwest,  and 
landed  near  the  village  of  a  friendly  chief.  He  had  with  him 
also,  1000  Indians  as  warriors  and  carriers,  and  a  pack  of 
bloodhounds  which  were  to  aid  in  the  work  of  subduing  the 
natives.  The  point  at  which  he  now  found  himself  was  not 
the  site  of  Aspinwall,  whence  one  at  present  departs  for  the 
short  and  easy  ride  through  the  magnificent  tropical  forest, 
that  delights  the  eye  without  impeding  the  progress  of  the 
traveller.  Balboa  was  at  some  distance  to  the  southeast  of 
this,  just  opposite  the  bay  of  San  Miguel.  Before  him  lay  an 
unbroken  forest,  rendered  almost  impenetrable  by  tangled 
undergrowth,  and  beset  with  tribes  of  warlike  and  hostile 
natives.  It  cost  him  one  battle,  and  many  days  of  hard 
marching,  to  reach  the  summit  of  the  mountain  range  whence, 
his  Indian  guides  told  him,  could  be  seen  the  broad  expanse 
of  another  ocean.  The  most  elevated  point  was  a  bare  rock, 
below  which  a  halt  was  ordered,  and  "  Vasco  Nufiez  advanced 
22 


Development  of  Pacific-Coast  Geography.  23 

alone.  His  should  be  the  first  European  eye  to  behold  what  \ 
there  was  to  behold,  and  that  without  peradventure.  With 
throbbing  heart  he  mounted  the  topmost  eminence  which 
crowned  these  sea-dividing  hills.  Then,  as  in  the  lifting  of  a 
veil,  a  scene  of  primeval  splendor  burst  on  his  enraptured  gaze, 
such  as  might  fill  with  joy  an  archangel  sent  to  explore  a  new 
creation.  There  it  lay,  that  boundless  unknown  sea,  spread 
out  before  him,  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  in  calm  majestic 
beauty,  glittering  like  liquid  crystal  in  the  morning  sun.  .  .  . 
Dropping  on  his  knees,  he  poured  forth  praises  and  thanks- 
giving to  the  author  of  that  glorious  creation  for  the  honor 
of  its  discovery.  The  soldiers  then  pressed  forward,  gazed 
enchanted  likewise,  and  likewise  assumed  the  attitude  of  prayer : 
for  however  ungodly  were  their  lives,  these  cavaliers  were 
always  fond  of  praying.^'  Years  before  this,  Columbus  had 
been  told  of  the  existence  of  a  large  body  of  water  on  the  other 
side  of  the  mountains  seen  from  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico ; 
he  was,  however,  convinced  that  this  whole  region  was  but  a 
part  of  Asia,  and  that  accordingly  such  a  body  of  water  could 
be  only  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  Balboa  brought  back  to  Antigua 
gold  to  the  value  of  over  40,000  pesos,  or  dollars  of  the  time, 
together  with  an  immense  store  of  pearls,  not  to  speak  of  cot- 
ton cloth,  native  weapons,  and  800  Indian  slaves.  Further- 
more he  had  subdued  all  the  nations  through  whose  territories 
he  had  passed,  gained  the  most  of  them  to  friendship,  and  all 
this  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  The  loadstone  had  been  found 
which  could  draw  the  Spaniards  to  all  the  perils  of  discovery 
and  conquest;  so  this  region,  and  the  still  richer  fields  to  which 
it  opened  the  way,  were  marked  for  future  conquest. 

From  this  time  forth  the  excursions  of  the  Spaniards  to  the 
Pacific  coast  were  numerous ;  but  with  the  characteristic 
secrecy  of  the  time,  they  did  not  publish  the  results  thereof 
to  the  world  at  large.  Some  idea  of  it,  however,  gradually 
made  its  way  throughout  Europe,  and  we  soon  find  it  assuming 
shape  on  the  cartographical  representations.  The  Frankfort 
globe  of  1515,  the  Nuremberg  one  of  1520,  and  the  Apianus 


24  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

map  of  the  same  date,  all  bear  testimony  to  the  fact.  The 
real  knowledge  of  the  Pacific  ocean  and  its  American  coast 
was  very  scant,  and  the  cartographers  did  not  possess  even  all 
that  the  navigators  and  the  Spanish  government  did.  Ac- 
cordingly the  maps  of  that  early  time  give  us  but  the  crudest 
idea  of  this  part  of  the  New  World. 

We  shall  find,  nevertheless,  that  for  some  time  to  come 
many  Europeans  believed  that  North  America  was  a  part  of 
the  great  eastern  stretch  of  Asia ;  but  from  the  third  decade 
of  the  sixteenth  century  it  was  established  that  at  least  South 
America  was  separate  therefrom,  or  at  least  only  connected 
with  it  perhaps  by  a  long  strait.  In  the  year  1520,  Magellan 
passed  through  the  strait  that  now  bears  his  name,  and  called 
the  great  body  of  water  into  which  he  thence  issued  "  Mare 
Pacificum."  However,  this  discovery  was  not  positively  known 
in  Spain  till  two  years  afterward,  when  his  ship  returned  to 
Spain  via  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  though  it  had  been  thought 
probable,  from  the  report  of  some  who  had  accompanied 
Magellan  into  the  strait,  and  had  then  abandoned  him  in 
order  to  hurry  back  with  the  news  of  an  enterprise  but  half 
accomplished.  But  the  Pacific  coast  of  America  was  to  be 
explored  mainly  from  the  centre  to  the  north  and  south, 
not  from  either  end  toward  the  centre.  The  extension  of 
geographical  knowledge  must  precede  the  cartographical  rep- 
resentation of  that  knowledge ;  unless  indeed  we  busy  ourselves 
with  the  fancies  of  men  who  were  more  anxious  to  attract  the 
public  than  to  aid  in  the  spread  of  scientific  learning.  Mr. 
H.  H.  Bancroft  has  an  interesting  chapter  on  this  very  theme, 
but  it  lies  outside  our  purpose  to  deal  with  it.  There  had 
already  been  exploring  parties  sent  out  from  the  isthmus  in 
the  years  1514,  1515  and  1519,  before  Cortes  conquered 
Mexico ;  but  from  the  time  that  he  was  in  possession  of  that 
country,  there  was  manifest  a  determination  to  know  the 
Pacific  coast  of  the  land  more  accurately,  and  preparations  on 
a  large  scale  were  made  to  explore  that  coast,  especially  toward 
the  north.     Before  the  year  1522,  Cortes  had  discovered  three 


Development  of  Pacific-Coast  Geography.  25 

points  on  the  coast  from  Tehiiantepec  to  Zacatula ;  and  this 
same  year  there  was  an  expedition  sent  out  from  the  isthmus, 
of  which  one  portion  under  Gonzalez  Davila,  went  by  land  to 
Nicaragua,  while  the  other,  coasting  northward,  may  have 
gone  as  far  as  Tehuantepec,  if  the  recorded  distances  are  to  be 
believed.  Ten  years  later,  Hurtado  de  Mendoza  reached  the  ) 
coast  of  Sinaloa,  opposite  the  southern  extremity  of  Lower 
California;  and  was  followed  the  succeeding  year  (1533)  by 
Jiminez,  who  touched  the  southern  point  of  the  peninsula  of  ) 
California,  and  supposed  the  whole  to  be  an  island.  In  1539 
Ulloa  reached  the  head  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  \ 
examining  more  or  less  closely  both  the  east  and  west  sides, 
thus  proving  the  peninsular  form  of  Lower  California ;  he 
touched  its  southernmost  point,  and  sailed  up  its  western  coast 
to  the  vicinity  of  Cedros  Island,  in  twenty-nine  degrees  north. 
The  earliest  accurate  representation  of  any  part  of  the  Pacific 
coast  that  we  have,  is  that  on  the  anonymous  Spanish  map  of 
1527,  on  which  there  is  given  the  result  of  the  discoveries  at  \\ 
least  as  late  as  those  of  1522 ;  for  at  the  most  northerly  point 
is  mentioned  Sienna  de  gil  Goncalez  Dauila,  evidently  named 
from  the  chief  of  the  exploring  party  of  that  year,  of  which  we 
have  already  spoken.  The  southern  discoveries  appear  to  have 
been  unknown  to  the  author  of  the  map,  as  there  is  nothing 
given  south  of  the  Gulf  of  San  Miguel.  The  town  of  Panama, 
w^iich  had  been  founded  in  1519,  also  finds  place.  This  name 
was  probably  abbreviated  from  that  of  Tubanamd,  who,  says 
H.  H.  Bancroft,  "was  reputed  the  richest  as  well  as  the 
strongest  chieftain  of  these  mountains,  and  was  the  terror  of 
the  neighboring  nations."  In  all  there  are  35  names  on  the 
part  of  the  Pacific  coast  here  drawn,  and  there  are  also  two 
names  inland,  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  they  are 
intended  to  designate  places  inland  or  on  the  coast.  This  same 
year,  Robert  Thorne,  residing  at  Seville,  Spain,  sent  to  England 
his  map  of  the  world,  on  which  the  southern  coast  of  Central 
America  is  drawn,  but  he  seems  to  have  possessed  no  accurate 
knowledge  of  its  details. 


26  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

On  the  following  map,  that  of  Eibero,  of  1529,  the  Pacific 
coast-line  extends  southward  to  about  the  tenth  degree  of  south 
latitude,  where  we  find  the  name,  "chinchax/^  The  whole 
region  is  called  ^Perv;'  thus  showing  the  acquaintance  of  the 
author  with  the  expedition  of  Pascual  de  Andogoya,  who  in 
1522  sailed  from  Panama  to  a  point  six  or  seven  days'  journey 
south  of  the  Gulf  of  San  Miguel,  to  the  province  under  the 
command  of  a  chief  named  Bird.  It  was  principally  on 
account  of  the  information  gained  on  this  expedition  that 
Pizarro  was  later  led  to  undertake  the  conquest  of  the  rich 
countries  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America ;  although  as 
early  as  the  first  exploration  of  Balboa,  news  of  the  existence 
of  great  wealth  south  of  the  isthmus  had  been  obtained ; 
and  Pizarro,  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  was  one  of  Balboa's  com- 
panions on  that  occasion.  The  marvellous  accounts  of  the 
riches  of  Peru,  which  were  substantiated  by  the  great  quanti- 
ties of  gold  and  pearls  sent  thence  to  the  mother  country, 
excited  widespread  curiosity ;  and  adventurers  in  vast  num- 
bers thronged  there.  Fortunately  for  history,  there  came 
also  some  with  a  literary  turn,  who  have  left  us  valuable 
descriptions  of  what  they  there  saw  and  learned.  Pizarro 
had  secured  from  the  Spanish  crow^n  the  right  of  conquest 
over  a  stretch  of  two  hundred  leagues  along  the  coast;  and 
the  right  of  conquest  of  the  country  further  south  was  ceded 
to  another  adventurer,  by  name  Almagro.  These,  two,  at  first 
friends  and  partners  in  the  project,  later  became  the  most  bit- 
ter enemies;  which  fact,  however,  was  probably  to  the  advan- 
tage of  a  rapid  progress  in  the  knowledge  of  the  more  southerly 
parts ;  for  it  compelled  Almagro  to  seek  his  prize  in  the  less 
attractive  and  poorer  south.  So  within  a  very  few  years  after 
the  first  discovery,  the  coast  became  known  with  a  certain 
degree  of  accuracy,  as  far  south  as  the  site  of  Valparaiso; 
while  the  interior  was  fast  being  opened  up  to  the  conquerors. 
In  1540  Alonzo  de  Camargo  passed  through  the  Straits  of 
Magellan,  touched  the  coast  of  Chili  at  latitude  38  degrees  30 
minutes  south,  and  sailed  on  to  Arequipa  in  Peru ;  thus,  so 


Development  of  FacifiG- Coast  Geography,  27 

far  as  known,  completing  for  the  first  time  the  knowledge  of 
the  outline  of  the  South  American  coast.  The  knowledge  thus 
gained  by  Camargo  was  by  no  means  perfect,  if  we  are  to  judge 
it  by  the  maps  of  Ortelius  and  others,  that  represent  the  coast 
of  Chili  projecting  quite  as  far  to  the  west  as  does  Peru.  This 
however,  should  occasion  no  surprise  on  our  part,  when  we 
consider  that  these  navigators  were  not  employed  in  making 
an  accurate  survey  of  the  coast,  but  in  the  universal  hunt  for 
gold.  Moreover  they  had  not  the  instruments  to  make 
accurate  observations,  if  they  had  cared  to  do  so.  When  we 
call  to  mind  that  this  was  in  the  days  of  Copernicus,  to  whom 
was  due  "the  overthrow  of  the  Ptolemaic  system  and  the  total 
renovation  of  the  science  of  astronomy ; "  and  when  we  think 
of  the  crudity  of  instruments  and  methods  of  even  the  foremost 
astronomers  of  this  time,  should  we  wonder  that  simple, 
practical  pilots  did  not  produce  better  results  ?  The  wonder 
is  rather  that  many  of  them  did  so  well  under  such  adverse 
circumstances.  On  the  Nancy  globe  of  about  1550,  the 
Pacific  coast-line  of  South  America  is  in  general  quite  accu- 
rately drawn  ;  and  here  we  may  leave  the  subject.  Though 
a  number  of  the  later  maps  still  retain  the  old  inaccuracies, 
a  fairly  exact  knowledge  of  the  western  coast  of  South 
America  had  already  been  gained,  not  only  by  Spanish 
explorers  and  their  fellow  countrymen,  but  also  beyond  that 
country,  to  such  an  extent  that  we  may  be  justified  in  asserting, 
that  from  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  a  fair  knowledge 
of  the  Pacific  coast  of  South  America  had  penetrated  into  the 
mind  of  educated  Europe. 

We  now  come  to  a  consideration  of  the  geographical  devel- 
opment of  the  knowledge  of  the  coast  of  California  and  the 
north-western  part  of  North  America.  Rumors  of  great 
quantities  of  gold  to  be  found  in  this  direction  also,  caused 
the  Spaniards,  for  a  series  of  years,  to  make  voyages  hither 
from  their  newly  conquered  country  of  Mexico;  but  as 
Nature  here  kept  her  secret  most  cunningly  from  them,  they 
gradually  relinquished  the  search,  did  comparatively  little  to 


28  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

foster  the  settlements  already  begun  there,  yielded  their  claims 
in  part,  first  to  the  English,  then  to  the  United  States ;  and 
were  finally  compelled  by  war  to  relinquish  all  to  their  now 
more  powerful  neighbor.  Then,  as  if  by  magic,  the  door  of 
Nature's  treasure-house  was  opened,  and  all  the  world  gazed 
in  wonder  at  the  uncounted  wealth  poured  out  therefrom. 
Still  further  to  the  north,  a  country  of  fine  harbors  and  mag- 
nificent scenery  was  gradually  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
Europeans ;  but  for  a  long  period  this  region  also  was  con- 
sidered of  but  little  value.  Time,  however,  has  shown  that 
sea  and  earth  there  are  abundantly  stored  with  riches,  and  it 
requires  only  hardihood  and  energy  to  bring  them  to  light. 

Let  us  now  follow  somewhat  in  detail  the  growth  of  this 
knowledge.  The  western  coast  of  North  America  is  in  many 
respects  a  striking  contrast  to  the  eastern.  The  mountains 
are  nearer  the  ocean  and  the  coast-line  is  much  less  broken  by 
bays,  inlets,  and  the  mouths  of  large  rivers.  On  this  account 
the  early  navigators  were  compelled  to  proceed  warily,  as  the 
good  harbors  were  but  feWj  and  these  far  distant  from  each 
other.  Moreover,  the  experience  of  a  majority  of  the  early 
mariners  on  this  part  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  such,  that 
they  would  never  have  conferred  upon  it  the  name  given  by 
Magellan  to  its  southern  portion ;  and  it  was  only  by  slow 
degrees  that  the  entire  body  of  water  between  America  and 
Asia  came  to  be  known  by  the  name  Pacific.  The  history  of 
the  exploration  of  the  western  coast  of  the  United  States  and 
British  America  is  a  story  of  peril  by  storm  and  fog,  in  worm- 
eaten  ships,  without  proper  supplies  of  food  and  water,  and 
in  general  of  untold  misery  and  death  caused  by  privation 
and  exposure. 

How  much  is  due  to  Spanish  exploration  of  the  coast  of 
California  can  be  summarized  in  brief.  The  first  three  decades 
of  the  sixteenth  century  had  passed  without  their  getting  much 
if  any  to  the  north  of  the  present  southern  boundary  of  the 
United  States.  The  most  important  expedition  which  they 
sent  out  in  this  direction  during  the  century  was  that  of  1542, 


Development  of  Pacific- Codst  Geography.  29 

under  Cabrillo,  which  in  spite  of  fogs,  storms  and  adverse 
winds,  slowly  made  its  way  along  the  coast  toward  the  north, 
giving  names  and  making  observations,  till  they  thought  they 
had  reached  the  latitude  of  the  44th  parallel.  Mr.  H.  H.  Ban- 
croft, who  has  made  a  careful  analysis  of  the  records  of  the 
voyage,  is  of  the  opinion  that  Cabrillo  himself  reached  no 
higher  than  42  degrees.  But  he  died,  and  the  explorations 
were  continued  under  his  successor  in  command,  Ferrelo; 
and  he  may  possibly  have  proceeded  as  far  north  as  the  43d 
parallel.  Neither  of  them  landed  however  north  of  Point 
Conception,  in  latitude  34°  26'.  During  the  whole  of  the 
remainder  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  Spaniards  did  not 
improve  on  the  knowledge  of  these  parts  gained  by  this 
expedition. 

Though  the  Spanish  government  was  doubtless  promptly  in 
receipt  of  information  as  to  the  results  of  this  voyage,  that 
knowledge  failed  for  a  long  time  to  penetrate  to  the  makers  of 
maps.  The  Nancy  globe,  already  mentioned,  has  not  a  hint 
of  the  existence  of  an  ocean  west  of  the  present  United  States, 
but  represents  Mexico  as  a  southeasterly  projection  of  Asia. 
To  the  west  of  Mexico,  here  spelled  Messico,  is  placed  "  Asia 
Magna,''  and  north  of  it,  "  Asia  Orientalis  ; ''  while  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  is  hardly  recognizable  under  the  appellation  "  Mare 
Cathay um,"  the  name  then  generally  given  to  the  Chinese 
Sea.  This  supposed  connection  between  the  mainland  of  Asia 
and  the  New  World  must  never  be  lost  sight  of  in  studying 
the  geography  of  the  period ;  for  it  is  the  key  to  much  that 
would  otherwise  be  absolutely  nonsensical  on  the  part  of  cos- 
mographers  of  the  time. 

There  was  also  another  element  of  fancy  that  played  an 
important  part  in  the  geography  of  this  period.  The  desire 
to  find  a  northern  passage  to  the  riches  of  India  and  Japan 
had  been  expressed  as  early  as  the  period  of  the  Cabots.  After 
the  discovery  of  the  southern  strait  by  Magellan,  there  was  a  I 
fixed  determination,  especially  on  the  part  of  England  and 
France,  to  find  a  corresponding  passage  in  the  north.     What 


30  America:   Its  Geographical  History, 

men  earnestly  long  for,  they  frequently  come  to  believe  true 
and  practicable;  which  characteristic  of  human  nature  resulted 
in  this  case  in  the  appearance  of  actual  descriptions,  nay  even 
pictures,  of  a  northerly  strait  connecting  the  xltlantic  and 
Pacific,  which  no  one  had  ever  seen  or  passed  through.  Spanish 
discoveries  produced  the  separation,  on  the  maps,  of  the 
southern  part  of  North  America  from  the  mainland  of  Asia. 
But  it  was  the  belief  in  the  imaginary  Straits  of  Anian  that 

f  first  brought  upon  the  maps  a  representation  of  North  America 
as  a  great  continent  absolutely  separate  from  the  Orient. 
Many  maps  of  the  period  serve  to  illustrate  what  has  just 
been  said.     The  earliest  representation  of  this  known  to  me 

•<  is  the  Schoener  globe  of  1523,  where  a  broad  open  strait  in  the 
far  north  connects  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans.     Perhaps 

1  the  best  known  of  them  all  was  that  of  Ortelius,  published  in 
1570  in  his  great  work  entitled  "Theatrum  Orbis  Terrarum.'' 
On  his  map  of  the  world,  an  unbroken  coast-line  extends  from 
the  Straits  of  Magellan  in  52  degrees  south  to  "  Anian,'^ 
which  is  placed  between  60  and  65  degrees  north  latitude. 

I  As  this  was  one  of  the  maps  in  the  first  of  modern  atlases, 
and  its  author  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  being,  after  Mercator, 
the  greatest  geographer  of  the  age,  we  may  well  understand 
how  the  work  became  popular,  and  went  through  five  revised 
editions  during  the  author's  life  time,  and  became  the  common 
foundation  for  many  geographies  compiled  by  later  writers. 

In  1579,  Francis  Drake,  on  his  famous  voyage  round  the 
world,  landed  on  the  western  coast  of  North  America,  proba- 
bly at  about  43  degrees  north  latitude.  Thence  he  coasted 
toward  the  south  until  he  found  a  convenient  harbor  where  he 
could  beach  his  ship.  Here  he  remained  a  month  ;  and  while 
the  ship  was  being  repaired,  some  little  inland  exploring  was 
also  done.  The  point  where  he  first  landed  and  the  harbor 
where  he  passed  a  month  are  both  subjects  of  sharp  contro- 
versy. The  errors  in  astronomical  reckoning,  common  at 
that  period,  have  been  already  touched  upon.  Nor  is  it  easy 
to  fix,  by  the  meagre  description  left  us,  the  locality  visited. 


Development  of  Pacific- Coast  Geography.  31 

Accuracy  of  observation  and  statement  is  rarely  found,  except 
where  men  are  trained  to  it,  and  a  description  of  only  the 
general  characteristics  of  a  harbor  might  answer  for  any  one 
of  several  ports.  That  Drake's  halting  place  was  the  present 
Bay  of  San  Francisco  seems  to  us  highly  improbable,  for  two 
reasons:  1,  that  a  month's  sojourn  in  such  a  magnificent 
harbor,  on  a  coast  where  even  passably  good  harbors  are  rare, 
would  have  called  forth  such  exclamations  of  unusual  surprise 
and  pleasure  on  the  part  of  the  chronicler  of  the  expedition 
as  we  do  not  find ;  and  2,  that  it  is  not  more  probable  that 
Drake  found  the  Golden  Gate  than  other  navigators  who  had 
passed  and  repassed  along  that  coast,  without  ever  suspecting 
the  existence  thereof.  Just  outside  the  entrance  to  the  Bay 
of  San  Francisco  are  several  islets  that,  to  a  navigator 
feeling  his  way  along  ap  unknown  coast,  would  rather  lead 
him  to  steer  for  the  open  sea  than  attract  him  to  search  behind 
them  for  a  magnificent  harbor  which  lies  not  only  behind 
those  islands,  but  in  truth  so  encircled  by  the  long  arms  of 
the  mainland  that,  from  the  sea,  there  appears  to  be  not  even 
promise  of  a  safe  shelter.  And  the  fact  remains,  that  the  bay 
remained  unknown,  at  least  to  the  Spaniards,  until  discovered 
in  1769  by  accident,  from  the  land  side.  Drake  called  the 
region  along  whose  coast  he  had  sailed,  New  Albion  ;  and 
this  name  long  continued  to  appear  on  maps  of  this  part  of 
America ;  while  England  afterwards  laid  claim  to  the  whole 
of  this  part  of  the  continent  on  the  strength  of  Drake's  dis- 
coveries. 

Ten  years  after  Drake's  voyage  a  well  known  map  of  the 
world  was  published  by  Hakluyt,  the  greatest  collector  of  his  ^ 
day  of  information  as  to  everything  relating  to  voyages  of 
discovery.  On  this  map  we  see  America  represented  as 
entirely  distinct  from  Asia,  although  their  separation  was  not 
proven  till  the  &mous  voyage  of  Behring,  nearly  140  years 
later.  But  the  imaginary  Strait  of  Anian  is  there,  that  much 
dreamed-of  passage  in  the  north  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific.     On  the  mainland,  at  about  60  degrees  north,  there 


32  Ame7ica:   Its  Geographical  History. 

appears  the  name  "  Anian  regnum/^  Kingdom  of  Anian,  which 
is  bounded  by  the  aforesaid  imaginary  strait.  This  body  of 
water  tends  first  toward  the  northeast  till  it  reaches  between 
70  and  80  degrees  of  north  latitude,  and  then  runs  due  east 
till  it  connects  with  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  But  the  whole  region 
north  of  40  degrees,  as  depicted,  is  manifestly  imaginary,  and 
from  its  appearance,  convinces  the  beholder  that  the  compiler 
knew  nothing  of  that  which  he  was  attempting  to  represent. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  Spanish 
government  sent  out  another,  and  practically  a  last  expedi- 
tion to  make  discoveries  on  the  western  coast  of  the  present 
United  States.  It  was  under  the  command  of  Vizcaino,  and 
so  far  as  we  know,  went  but  little  if  any  further  north  than 
Cabrillo  and  Ferrelo  had  done  more  than  half  a  century  ante- 
cedent. However,  a  map  was  made  showing  the  results  of  the 
voyage,  which  map  displays  a  more  exact  acquaintance  with 
the  coast  than  any  previous  one  had  done;  and  this  map  was 
not  improved  upon  for  a  century  and  a  half  following.  Already 
we  find  a  number  of  local  names  that  have  since  remained  per- 
manent. There  are  Cape  Mendocino,  and  Cape  San  Lucas ; 
also  the  names  Monterey  and  San  Diego,  here  applied  also  to 
capes,  and  to-day  the  names  of  cities  in  their  respective  vicini- 
ties. The  island  of  Santa  Barbara  also  had  been  already  given 
the  name  that  it  still  bears.  But  such  expeditions  were  expen- 
sive both  in  life  and  treasure ;  and  as  they  did  not  bring  in 
the  desired  return  of  gold,  the  Spanish  government  could  not 
be  induced  to  continue  them.  The  Indians  had  learned  by 
this  time  to  play  upon  the  imagination  of  the  Spaniards ;  and 
wherever  the  latter  came,  asking  for  information  as  to  where 
gold  was  to  be  found,  they  heard  a  story  of  marvelous  riches 
still  further  to  the  north.  But  as  the  place  of  immense  riches 
ever  receded  like  the  will-o^-the-wisp,  from  the  path  of  the 
Spaniards,  they  became  weary  in  the  pursuit:,  and  gradually 
relinquished  it.  From  now  on,  their  chief  thought  as  to  the 
north  was,  lest  another  nation  should  find  a  northwest  passage 
to  the  Pacific. 


Development  of  Padfic-Cbast  Geography.  33 

There  was  a  long  cessation  of  explorations  in  this  vicinity 
during  the  seventeenth  century ;  but  nevertheless  geographical 
works  continued  to  be  published,  as  did  also  descriptions  of 
travels,  illustrated  with  maps;  and  for  all  of  these  works 
maps  were  made,  their  authors  but  too  often  supplying  from 
their  imagination  what  they  lacked  in  actual  knowledge. 
During  this  period  was  spread  abroad  the  fable  that  Cali- 
fornia was  an  island.  As  early  as  1539,  the  Spaniards  had 
already,  as  we  have  seen,  explored  the  Gulf  of  California  to 
its  head  waters,  and  had  satisfied  themselves  of  the  peninsular 
character  of  the  body  of  land  lying  to  the  west.  The  original 
source  of  the  error  in  representing  it  as  an  island,  is  not  dis- 
closed to  us;  but  so  far  as  known  the  first  such  representation 
of  it  is  that  on  the  map  which  Purchas  published  in  his  cele- 
brated book  called  the  Pilgrims,  in  the  year  1625.  The  island 
extends  from  Cape  S.  Lucas  in  23  degrees  north  to  Cape  Blanco 
in  42  degrees  north.  The  general  trend  of  the  Pacific  coast 
between  these  points  is  well  drawn ;  but  inland  there  runs  an 
imaginary  strait  almost  due  north  from  the  Gulf  of  California 
to  about  the  42d  parallel,  and  there  it  empties  into  a  bay  formed 
like  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  in  a  great  right  angle.  The  error  thus 
given  to  the  world  long  continued  to  deceive  the  public  as  to 
the  true  geography  of  the  region.^  Although  the  results  of 
Drake's  voyage  must  then  have  been  well  known  in  England, 
there  is  nothing  on  this  map  which  would  lead  us  to  suspect 
that  its  maker  had  any  knowledge  of  the  great  bay  which  is 
to-day  the  pride  of  Californians. 


^  An  inscription  in  the  S.  W.  corner  of  the  map  reads  as  follows :  "  Cali- 
fornia sometyines  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  y^  westerne  continent,  but  scince 
by  a  Spanish  charte  taken  by  y«  Hollanders  it  is  found  to  be  a  goodly  Islande ; 
the  length  of  the  west  shoare  beeing  about  500  leagues  from  Cape  Mendo- 
cino to  the  South  Cape  thereof  called  Cape  St.  Lucas;  as  appeareth  both 
by  that  Spanish  chart  and  by  the  relation  of  Francis  Gaule  whereas  in  the 
ordinarie  Charts  it  is  sett  downe  to  be  1700  leagues."  Worthy  of  remark 
is  the  fact  that  another  map  in  the  same  volume  gives  quite  a  satisfactory,  ^ 
representation  of  the  Gulf  and  Peninsula  of  California. 

3 


34  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

Early  Spanish  and  English  navigators  had  failed  to  explore 
the  western  coast  of  America  further  north  than  the  43d  or 
44th  parallel  of  latitude.  There  remained  yet  a  vast  unknown 
northwest,  about  which  speculation  was  rife ;  but  which  hardly 
promised  to  pay  for  the  trouble  of  its  exploration.  As  far  as 
any  knowledge  to  the  contrary  went,  North  America  was 
still  a  mere  projection  or  elongation  of  Asia ;  though  it  was 
devoutly  hoped  and  suspected  that  the  contrary  was  true. 
The  absolute  knowledge  of  the  fact  was  to  be  revealed  by  a 
man  of  a  nationality  which  up  to  that  time  had  not  taken  part 
in  exploring  the  New  World,  and  who  was  in  the  service  of  a 
nation  that  was  looked  upon  by  its  neighbors  as  little  better 
than  barbarous.  Among  the  many  new  ventures  undertaken 
in  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great  of  Russia,  one  of  the  prominent 
ones  was  that  of  the  exploration  and  settlement  of  Siberia. 
During  his  life  various  parties  had  been  organized  and  sent 
out  for  this  purpose ;  and  the  same  policy  was  continued  after 
his  death.  In  order  to  carry  out  his  great  improvements  in 
Russian  life,  manufactures,  etc.,  Peter  the  Great  had  found  it 
necessary  to  import  into  his  realm  many  foreigners,  in  great 
part  Germans.     Among  these  latter  came  one  named  Vitus 

'  Bering,  or  Behring,  a  man  of  almost  forbidding  aspect,  but  ener- 
getic and  capable,  at  least  in  his  earlier  undertakings.  Being 
both  foreign  and  repellent  in  manner,  he  succeeded  in  making 
himself  cordially  hated  by  his  Russian  subordinates.  Yet  it  is 
to  this  man  that  we  owe  the  first  demonstration  of  the  fact  that 
Russia  and  America  are  indeed  separate  continents.  Having 
crossed  the  great  wastes  of  Siberia,  he  built  a  ship  on  the 

I  eastern  coast;  and  in  the  summer  of  1728  he  passed  East 
Cape,  the  most  easterly  point  of  Asia,  whence  the  land  turns 
abruptly  toward  the  west.  Although  from  this  point  the 
coast  of  America  is  but  36  miles  distant,  nothing  of  the  west- 
ern continent  was  seen  on  this  voyage,  by  Behring  and  his  men. 
However,  at  this  we  should  not  be  surprised,  as  the  region  is 
one  where  fogs  prevail  for  a  considerable  portion  of  the  year. 
Two  years   later,    we  are  told,    '^Krupiscef  and   Gwozdef, 


Development  of  FaciJiG- Coast  Geography.  35 

following  Behring,  actually  came  in  sight  of  the  American 
continent,  along  which  they  coasted  southward  for  two  days  " 
(H.  H.  Bancroft).  However,  nothing  definite  seems  to  be 
known  as  to  the  exact  region  thus  visited.  After  their  first 
essay,  Behring  and  his  men  spent  several  years  in  preparations 
and  quarrelling,  and  in  1741  they  started  out  again  on  the  ^ 
waters  of  the  northern  Pacific,  determined  this  time  to  find 
America,  They  had  two  ships,  the  second  one  being  in  com- 
mand of  a  Russian  named  Chirikof  On  the  voyage  Behring 
seems  to  have  displayed  such  a  spirit  of  weak  vacillation  that 
one  is  tempted  to  think  him  in  his  dotage.  The  two  vessels 
became  separated,  and  that  under  Chirikof  was  the  first  to  "^ 
sight  land,  probably  near  the  present  Sitka.  Somewhat  later 
Behring  came  in  sight  of  Mount  St.  Elias,  from  which  point 
he  sailed  first  west  and  then  soutliwest,  and  discovered  the 
Shumagin  Islands,  south  of  the  western  extremity  of  the 
Alaskan  peninsula,  to  which  islands  he  gave  their  present 
name.  Steering  thence  for  Siberia,  he  was  wrecked  on  a  little 
island  that  still  bears  his  name.  There  he  succumbed  to  the 
hardships  and  privations  that  had  filled  so  large  a  portion  of 
his  life.  Some  of  his  companions,  however,  managed  to  eke 
out  an  existence  through  the  winter.  Among  other  booty, 
they  succeeded  in  killing  some  seals,  whose  furs  they  took 
back  with  them  to  Siberia,  when  finally  rescued.  Thus  the 
seal  may  be  said  to  have  been  discovered;  and  to  that  dis- 
covery is  due  the  fact,  that  henceforth  this  region  has  attracted 
an  ever  increasing  number  of  daring  sailors  to  its  shores.  As 
a  result  of  these  discoveries,  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  St. 
Petersburg,  published  in  1758  a  map  of  Alaska,  with  the  l 
names  in  the  French  language.  It  shows  various  points  from 
Behring  strait  south,  to  what  it  designates  as  the  ^'  Port  of 
Francis  Drake,  falsely  called  the  Port  of  St.  Francis.''  The 
portions  of  the  coast-line  still  unknown  are  marked  by  dotted 
lines,  which  connect  in  a  conventional  manner  the  heavy  lines 
of  the  known  coast.  The  routes  of  Behring  and  Chirikof  are 
also  laid  down. 


36  America:   Its  Geographioal  History, 

During  the  same  year  that  saw  the  completion  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  northeast  coast  of  Asia  by  Behring,  there  was 

I  born,  of  humble  parentage,  in  England,  James  Cook,  who  was 
destined  to  become  one  of  the  greatest  navigators  of  the  age. 
Into  his  early  career  we  have  no  time  to  enter.  His  last  work 
was  to  seek  from  the  Pacific  side  the  long  wished-for  north- 
ern passage  to  the  Atlantic.  Leaving  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
which  he  had  discovered,   he  sailed  toward  America  in  the 

(  summer  of  1778,  and  first  sighted  the  mainland  near  the 
43d  parallel.  Thence  he  followed  the  coast  toward  the 
north,  approaching  it  at  various  points.  He  entered  Nootka 
Sound,  and  adopted  for  it  the  aboriginal  name,  which  still 
appears  on  our  maps.  Far  to  the  north  he  entered,  with  high 
hope  of  succeeding  in  his  mission,  a  promising  inlet.  However, 
his  progress  was  soon  blocked  by  land,  and  he  returned  to  the 
open  ocean.  The  inlet  retains  to-day  the  name  of  its  hardy 
discoverer.  Nothing  daunted,  he  pushed  on  farther  toward 
the  north,  examining  islands  and  mainland,  ever  hoping  and 
ever  doomed  to  renewed  disappointment,  till  at  last  his  pro- 
gress was  arrested  by  impenetrable  ice.  The  neighboring 
cape  he  named  Icy  Point;  whence,  forced  to  abandon  his 
project,  he  turned  again  toward  the  sunny  south.  He  made  a 
map  of  the  coast,  embodying  the  results,  not  only  of  his  own 
observations,  but  also  all  that  he  could  learn  of  the  Russian 
explorations.  With  this  voyage,  the  discovery  of  the  western 
coast  of  America  may  be  said  to  have  been  completed,  at  least 
in  outline,  though  a  vast  deal  remained  for  navigators  to 
explore  regarding  the  details  thereof.  And  here  we  leave  the 
subject. 

This  sketch  of  the  historical  development  of  the  coast  lines 
of  America  in  the  consciousness  of  Europe  would  not  be  com- 
plete without  some  notice  of  the  representations  of  an  imag- 
inary Antarctic  continent  south  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and 
the  substitution  therefor  of  the  complex  of  islands  now  known 
to  exist  there.  On  Magellan's  first  entrance  into  the  strait, 
fires  were  seen  along  the  coast,  whence  he  gave  it  the  name  it 


Development  of  Facific- Coast  Geography.  37 

has  ever  since  borne,  Terra  del  Fuego,  or  Land  of  Fire.  From 
the  days  of  Ptolemy,  it  was  a  matter  of  tradition  that  the  Indian 
Ocean,  like  the  Mediterranean,  was  an  inland  sea ;  and  that 
consequently  there  must  exist  to  the  south  of  it  another,  as 
yet  unknown  continent.  Long  before  Magellan's  discovery, 
there  appeared  on  Behaim's  globe  a  strait  represented  very 
nearly  in  the  position  of  the  one  found  by  that  explorer ;  and 
south  of  it  there  was  drawn  a  great  continent.  The  represen- 
tations of  this  mythic  body  of  land  are  larger  or  smaller, 
according  to  the  liveliness  of  imagination  of  their  respective 
authors.  On  some  maps  there  is  drawn  a  continent  with  its 
centre  at  the  south  pole,  and  extending  thence  to  an  enormous 
distance  in  all  directions.  On  others  it  is  much  smaller,  but 
still  of  great  extent;  while  the  famous  maps  of  1527  and  1529 
already  referred  to  several  times,  give  us  but  the  small  extent 
of  coast-line,  which  had  been  actually  seen  by  the  navigators, 
and  leaves  the  rest  out,  to.be  supplied  from  later  explorations. 
In  1578  Francis  Drake  passed  through  the  straits  on  his  voyage 
round  the  world,  and  then  sailed  to  the  southwest  until  he 
sighted  the  end  of  this  group  of  islands,  and  convinced  him- 
self that  there  was  no  continent  there.  In  1616  two  Dutch 
navigators  named  Lemaire  and  Schouten  passed  south  of  the 
group  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  christened  the 
southern  extremity  Cape  Hoorn,  after  the  latter's  native  place, 
a  small  town  on  the  shores  of  the  Zuyder  Zee.  Thus  the 
extent  of  this  group  of  islands  became  known.  However,  the 
non-existence  of  an  Antarctic  continent  was  not  proven  until 
Captain  Cook  made  his  famous  explorations  in  the  south  seas, 
discovering  and  naming  numbers  of  groups  of  islands,  but 
finding  no  trace  of  the  enormous  continent  that  geographers 
had  represented  as  existing  there.  Thus  actual  knowledge 
took  the  place  of  ignorance,  and  the  Untrue  was  shamed  away 
when  exposed  to  the  searching  light  of  day. 


III. 

Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions. 

After  Columbus  had  once  shown  the  way  across  the  Atlantic, 
it  was  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  follow  in  his  wake,  and 
extend  the  voyage  somewhat  further  along  the  coast  than  he 
had  done ;  likewise,  after  Magellan  had  penetrated  the  mys- 
teries of  the  straits  that  now  bear  his  name,  the  discovery  of 
the  Pacific  coasts  was  made  possible  in  ships  sailing  from 
Europe.  But  the  exploration  of  the  interior  of  the  country, 
traversed  by  unbridged  streams  and  lofty  mountain  ranges, 
and  largely  filled  with  almost  impenetrable  forests,  was  an 
entirely  different  matter.  We  have  seen  in  the  preceding 
lecture  how  many  difficulties  and  dangers  accompanied  the 
short  route  of  Balboa  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama ;  yet  that 
was  but  a  bagatelle  to  what  must  be  undergone  before  the 
whole  vast  continent  could  be  opened  to  and  subjugated  by 
the  European  and  his  descendants. 

The  work  here  was  not  only  more  difficult  in  itself,  but  it 
lacked  also  the  strong  motive,  especially  in  North  America, 
which  attracted  the  earliest  navigators,  namely,  the  presence 
of  the  precious  metals.  Very  possibly,  it  is  owing  to  this  fact, 
that  the  entire  North  American  continent  is  not,  like  the 
South  American,  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Latin  races  ;  for  the 
Spaniards  made  numerous  attempts  to  explore  and  settle  the 
north,  so  long  as  there  seemed  to  be  a  possibility  of  finding 
gold  there ;  and  only  retired  from  the  struggle  when  convinced 
of  its  non-existence.  Otherwise  the  struggle  for  the  possession 
of  the  northern  part  of  our  continent  would  have  been  a 
38 


Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions.         39 

three-fold    one ;   and    who   can    tell   what  would  have  been 
its  issue? 

Another  fact  must  also  be  borne  in  mind,  and  that  is  the 
then  backward  state  of  mathematical  geography.  Errors  of  five 
degrees  of  latitude  have  already  been  noticed  ;  but  in  longitude 
the  uncertainty  was  even  greater,  navigators  misreckoning 
therein  even  to  the  extent  of  twenty  degrees.  Consequently, 
even  after  the  Pacific  coast  was  to  a  certain  extent  known,  no 
one  could  tell  the  exact  relation  between  it  and  the  Atlantic, 
or  could  calculate  the  immense  stretch  of  country  that  lies 
between  the  two.  The  great  river  basins  of  the  Amazon 
and  La  Plata  offered  unusual  facilities  for  penetrating  to  the 
interior  of  the  southern  continent,  while  the  silver  of  the  one 
region,  and  the  famous  hard  woods  of  the  other,  lent  the 
necessary  stimulus  to  their  exploration ;  and  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  the  wealth  of  Peru  was  an  attraction  which  would  have 
induced  the  Spaniards  to  go  through  fire  and  water,  if  necessary, 
to  obtain  it.  The  same  is  true  of  Mexico,  where  the  natives 
had  already  reached  a  considerable  degree  of  civilization,  and 
where  accordingly  provisions  during  the  march  of  the  invader 
were  more  easily  obtainable;  the  country  was  comparatively 
narrow  from  coast  to  coast,  and  great  wealth  was  there  ready 
collected  for  the  first  brave  adventurer  who,  with  the  products 
of  European  skill,  should  contend  against  the  arms  of  native 
manufacture.  But,  in  the  territory  now  occupied  by  the 
United  States,  which  in  reality  is  marvelously  rich  in  the 
precious  metals,  the  early  seekers  after  gold  were  not  successful 
in  finding  it,  and  eventually  abandoned  the  search.  For  this 
reason,  much  of  the  3,000,000  square  miles  which  form  our 
territory  was  allowed  to  remain  in  its  pristine  state  until  a 
comparatively  late  period,  when  the  discovery  of  vast  quan- 
tities of  gold  and  silver  acted  with  its  old-time  attractiveness, 
and  thousands  rushed  thither  to  seek  their  fortunes.  Even 
Canada  and  a  great  part  of  British  North  America  were  known 
long  before  our  western  territory,  because  man  had  first  dis- 
covered there  wealth-producing  articles. 


40  America:   Its  Geographical  History, 

The  cartographical  productions  of  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries  have  a  rather  strange  appearance  to  eyes 
acquainted  only  with  recent  maps. 

Take,  for  example,  the  map  of  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  who  neces- 
sarily knew  nothing  of  the  interior  of  America.  He  filled  it 
up  with  lakes  and  rivers  ad  libitum^  connecting  all  rivers  with 
lakes,  but  not  all  with  the  sea.  Furthermore  he  gives  names 
on  the  coast  to  rivers,  as  in  the  case  of  Rio  Negro,  but  draws 
nothing  to  indicate  the  presence  of  flowing  water  there.  The 
same  holds  good  of  the  early  maps  generally,  until  the  con- 
quest of  Mexico  gave  cartographers  something  outside  of  their 
imaginations  as  a  foundation  for  what  they  depicted  beyond 
the  coast-lines.  The  power  of  imagination  varied  with  the 
indiv^idual ;  but  practically  all  have  more  or  less  of  the  fan- 
tastic, if  we  except  such  unusual  productions  as  the  of&cial 
Spanish  maps  of  1527  and  1529.  Mountains  were  often  visi- 
ble from  the  ships  of  the  explorers,  and  mouths  of  rivers  were 
frequently  entered  for  fresh  water,  or  in  hopes  of  finding  the 
traditional  passage  to  the  Pacific;  thus  these  two  features  were 
the  first  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  explorers,  and  conse- 
quently were  the  first  features  of  the  interior  to  appear  on  the 
maps ;  but  little,  however,  was  known  of  the  courses  of  the 
rivers  or  of  the  nature  of  the  mountain  ranges.  Naturally  the 
interior  of  Espagnola,  and  of  some  of  the  other  islands,  was 
familiar  to  the  Spaniards  at  an  early  date ;  but  our  attention,  in 
the  short  time  allotted  us,  must  be  confined  to  the  mainland. 
During  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  Cortes  began  the  founding  of 
cities  on  the  eastern  seaboard;  and  as  early  as  May,  1522, 
he  founded  Zacatula  on  the  western  coast,  a  city  that  still 
remains  in  existence.  In  the  meantime,  the  necessities  of 
the  situation  had  compelled  him  to  send  parties  of  his  men 
in  all  directions,  so  that  the  country  was  fairly  well  explored 
in  a  short  space  of  time.  More  or  less  elaborate  accounts 
of  all  his  doings  were  sent  from  time  to  time  to  Spain,  where 
he  had  to  defend  his  reputation  from  the  accusations  of  his 
enemies,  mainly  by  showing  how  much  he  was  doing  toward 


Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions,         41 

opening  up  a  valuable  country  for  his  sovereign.  Hither  and 
thither  marched  his  troops,  conquering  and  pillaging ;  making 
roads  and  discovering  deposits  of  the  precious  metals ;  ever 
extending  their  borders  toward  both  north  and  south.  In 
Central  America,  Cortes'  men  soon  arrived  at  districts  already- 
explored  by  his  countrymen  coming  from  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien.  But  toward  the  north  lay  a  territory  of  unknown 
extent,  in  which  Indian  tales  placed  seven  cities  of  untold 
wealth ;  and  these  stories,  it  w^as,  that  lead  to  the  exploration 
and  settlement  of  New  Mexico,  at  a  time  when  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  present  United  States  possessed  not  a  single  Euro- 
pean inhabitant.  It  may  as  well  here  be  added  that  the  settle- 
ment did  not  thrive,  and  for  a  long  period,  even  till  toward 
the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  was,  in  the  words  of  Mr. 
H.  H.  Bancroft,  "struggling  not  very  zealously,  for  a  bare 
existence."  From  1530  to  1540  various  exploring  parties 
traversed  this  region,  reaching  perhaps  as  far  north  as  the 
fortieth  parallel  of  latitude,  and  westward  into  the  present 
territory  of  Arizona.  Several  Indian  towns  were  discovered, 
but  they  contained  very  little  wealth.  However,  from  this 
time  forth  we  find  on  the  maps  a  variety  of  names,  in  the 
interior,  sometimes  of  provinces,  sometimes  of  towns,  but 
generally  of  uncertain  location,  as  scarcely  any  two  maps  agree 
in  this  particular. 

During  the  fourth  decade  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Cartier 
ascended  the  river  St.  Lawrence  for  500  miles,  passing  the 
site  of  Montreal,  and  probably  reaching  the  St.  Louis  Falls. 
At  the  end  of  the  same  decade,  De  Soto  commenced,  in  the 
south,  his  ill-fated  expedition  into  the  interior.  As  the  rem- 
nant of  De  Soto's  daring  adventurers  brought  back  practically 
all  the  information  of  the  interior  of  the  present  United  States, 
south  of  Tennessee  and  east  of  the  Mississippi,  which  was 
gained  for  a  century,  it  will  be  worth  our  while  to  follow  for 
a  moment  their  supposed  route.  After  a  careful  study  of  the 
records,  Mr.  H.  H.  Bancroft  is  of  the  opinion  that  their  route 
was  about  as  follow^s  : — landing  at  Tampa  Bay,  they  proceeded 


/ 


42  Ameinca:   Its  Geographical  History, 

to  near  Tallahassee;  thence  northeast  to  the  Savannah  River 
below  Augusta ;  thence  northwest  to  the  line  of  the  present 
state  of  Tennessee  near  Dalton,  Georgia ;  thence  southwest  to 
near  Mobile  Bay,  whence  they  turned  toward  the  northwest 
and  advanced  to  the  famous  discovery  of  the  Mississippi, 
which  they  first  saw  not  far  from  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas. 
Crossing  the  stream,  they  penetrated  far  to  the  west,  without 
finding  that  rich  kingdom  of  which  they  were  in  search  ;  and 
returned,  deeply  disappointed,  to  the  Mississippi,  where  the 
leader  gave  up  the  ghost,  and  was  secretly  buried  beneath 
those  waters,  the  history  of  which  will  ever  be  associated  with 
his  name.  De  Soto  was  succeeded  in  command  by  Luis  de 
Moscoso,  under  whom  the  band,  greatly  reduced  in  numbers, 
again  turned  to  the  west,  marched  150  leagues,  till  they  came 
in  sight  of  the  mountains ;  then  for  the  last  time  retraced 
their  course  to  the  Mississippi  above  the  Arkansas,  where  they, 
with  great  difficulty,  constructed  some  frail  craft,  in  which 
they  succeeded  in  reaching  Panuco;  and  there  they  found 
rest  among  their  fellow-countrymen.  As  the  result  of  this 
expedition,  many  names  of  Indian  tribes  came  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  Spaniards — names  which  are  found,  from  time  to  time,  on 
our  maps ;  but  with  the  same  result  as  has  been  before  noticed, 
namely,  that  their  locality  is  by  no  means  fixed.  During 
this  same  fourth  decade  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  conquest 
of  Peru  was  being  vigorously  prosecuted ;  accounts  of  which 
brought  considerable  knowledge  of  the  interior  of  South 
America  to  European  cartographers.  A  little  earlier,  Sebastian 
Cabot  was  making  his  extended  researches  into  the  geography 
of  the  basin  of  the  river  La  Plata,  spending  five  years  in  the 
work,  and  penetrating  a  thousand  miles  into  the  interior; 
while  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  decade,  Orellana  made  his 
descent  of  the  Amazon  from  the  Andes,  thus  bringing  to  light 
the  enormous  length  of  that  mighty  stream.  About  the 
middle  of  the  century,  Irala,  the  governor  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
organized  an  exploring  party  which  forced  a  way  overland 
to   the   Spanish    possessions   of   Peru,   and    thereby   opened 


Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions.         43 

communication  by  land  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
coasts. 

Meantime  the  cartographers  came  slowly  into  possession 
of  the  knowledge  acquired  by  the  discoverers;  but  their 
representations  gave  much  less  information  than  the  written 
descriptions.  On  the  Spanish  map  of  1527,  several  territorial 
divisions  are  named,  of  which  the  most  important  is  Nova 
Spafia  ;  and  near  this  name,  we  find  that  of  Mexico,  but  with- 
out anything  to  indicate  to  what  the  latter  refers.  The  north- 
east corner  of  South  America  is  designated  by  its  present 
name  of  El  Brasil,  while  the  northwest  portion  receives  the 
appellation  of  ^Castila  del  Oro.'  The  Amazon  under  the 
name  of  '  Maranhom/  flows  from  many  sources  in  the  south- 
west. Ribero's  map  of  two  years  later  contains  but  little  that 
is  new,  giving  the  imaginary  courses  of  several  rivers,  notably 
the  San  Francisco  of  South  America.  It  names  the  province 
of  Peru,  which  is  lacking  on  the  preceding  ;  and  adds  several 
names  in  North  America,  from  those  of  explorers,  or  would-be 
founders  of  colonies,  but  in  whose  territories  there  were  as  yet 
no  Caucasian  inhabitants.  We  note  also  the  name  ^  Tiera  de 
Patagones,'  that  given  by  Magellan  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
southernmost  portion  of  the  western  continent;  and  there 
appears  for  the  first  time  in  Central  America  the  name 
"•  Guatimala." 

On  an  Italian  map  of  1534,  the  great  interior  of  South 
America  is  styled  '  Castiglia  nuova  over  Perv,'  which  recalls 
the  name  of  the  province  ceded  to  Pizarro  by  the  Spanish 
government,  before  the  conquest  of  the  region,  and  the  adop- 
tion by  the  Spaniards  of  the  native  name,  or  a  corruption  of 
the  same ;  for  as  has  been  already  said,  it  was  also  called  at 
an  early  day  Birti.  The  Spanish  name,  however,  occurs  but 
seldom  on  maps,  the  native  term  from  the  first  taking  the  lead 
in  popular  usance,  and  the  official  usage  being  gradually  altered 
in  accordance  therewith.  On  the  Oxford  map  of  about  1536, 
is  the  name  ^  rio  de  la  platta,'  which  I  have  not  noticed  on  any 
earlier  map,  though  from  this  time  forth  it  occurs  frequently. 


44  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

and  finally  becomes  general.  Thus  we  see  how  maps  grow,  if 
the  term  be  allowed ;  for  one  cartographer  not  only  copies  what 
his  predecessors  have  drawn  upon  their  works,  but  seeks  to  add 
thereto  from  his  own  stock  of  information.  Thus  it  is,  that 
the  connection  between  descriptive  and  pictorial  geography 
must  ever  be  borne  in  mind,  as  both  belong  to  the  science,  and 
are  equally  necessary  to  its  advancement ;  the  one,  however, 
necessarily  following  the  other,  in  order  to  show  clearly  at  a 
glance,  the  really  important  matters  which  might  otherwise 
cost  hours  of  laborious  reading  to  understand.  On  the  map 
of  J.  E,otz,  of  1542,  which  gives  the  names  in  the  English 
language,  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  is  quite  correctly  drawn, 
though  the  islands  in  and  about  it  are  largely  imaginary  in 
their  form  and  number.  The  whole  map  indicates  that  some 
knowledge  of  the  results  of  Cartier's  voyages  had  already  pene- 
trated to  England.  On  the  Medina  map  of  1549,  the  "  R.  de 
los  Amazones"  rises  in  the  northwestern  part  of  South  America 
and  flows  in  a  southeasterly  direction,  emptying  into  the  ocean 
at  5  or  6  degrees  south  latitude,  where  it  receives  the  name 
'  maraflon,'  thus  embodying  upon  a  printed  map  the  results 
of  a  noted  voyage  made  within  the  same  decade.  Of  about 
the  same  time  are  two  French  maps  which  Kohl  reproduces 
for  us,  and  on  which  the  St.  Lawrence  for  a  considerable 
distance  from  its  mouth,  is  fairly  well  drawn ;  but  on  one  it 
is  cut  off,  as  being  unknown  further  inland,  while  on  the  other 
it  is  represented  as  rising  in  mountains. 

On  the  map  of  1554  by  John  Bellero,  there  are  several 
features  worthy  of  notice,  as  for  instance  that  the  Amazon  is 
represented  as  rising  in  Patagonia,  and  flowing  northeast  into 
the  Atlantic,  the  whole  with  the  name  ^  R.  de  esclavos.'  In 
Central  America  appear  ^  Quatimala '  and  ^  Nicaragua.'  The 
name  Florida  appears  twice,  being  applied  in  one  case  to  the 
peninsula  alone,  and  in  the  other,  apparently  to  the  entire  ter- 
ritory north  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  This  map  was  exceed- 
ingly popular ;  was  published  in  connection  with  two  works 
this  same  year  (1554),  and  repeated  many  times  within  the 


Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions.         45 

following  fifteen  years.  On  the  almost  equally  celebrated  map 
of  Ramusio  of  1556,  the  southern  part  of  South  America  is 
occupied  by  the  province  of  "  Chili/'  out  of  which  flows  the 
"  Rio  Maragnon ''  northeastward,  with  its  mouth  at  the 
equator.^  The  territory  to  the  west  of  it  is  designated  **  El 
Peru/'  and  that  to  the  East,  '^  Brazil."  In  the  neighborhood 
of  the  city  of  Mexico  stands  the  name  *  Tecoantepech,'  evidently 
the  Tehuantepec  of  our  day.  The  names  of  the  principal  places 
of  Peru  already  appear ;  and  we  find  on  this  map  Trugillo 
[Truxillo],  Lima,  Acequipa  [Arequipa],  Cusco,  and  a  ^ Chili' 
in  smaller  letters  than  those  which  seem  to  apply  to  the  whole 
of  the  southern  portion  of  the  continent.  One  noteworthy 
feature  of  the  map  is  that,  according  to  Mr.  Bancroft,  it  "  is 
the  first  printed  representation  of  North  America  as  it  was 
actually  know^n ;  that  is,  with  indications  of  a  broad  continent, 
but  all  left  blank  beyond  the  points  of  discovery."  On  the 
Zaltieri  map  of  1566,  the  interior  is  elaborated  to  an  unusual 
extent.  In  Canada  the  "  R.  S.  Lorenzo  "  flows  southeast  out 
of  "  Lago ; "  and  near  it  are  the  localities  "  Ochelaza  "  and 
"  Ochelai."  To  the  south  is  "  Larcadia,"  and  west  of  this 
stands  "  Terra  di  Norumbega."  The  whole  interior  is  filled 
with  Mountains ;  and  a  range  in  the  northwest  receives  the 
name  "Apalchen/'  out  of  which  form  has  evidently  been 
developed  the  present  name  of  the  eastern  mountain  range  of 
the  United  States,  Appalachian.  "  Granata  "  is  the  general 
name  on  this  map  for  the  region  later  known  as  New  Mexico ; 
and  several  towns  are  indicated,  but  none  of  those  now  exist- 
ing. Mexico  is  well  supplied  with  names,  among  which  are 
noted  "  Temistitain "  and  "  Mistecui,"  probably  Italianized 
forms  of  Temixtitlan  and  Mexico.  On  the  Ortelius  map  of 
1570,  with  all  its  richness  of  detail,  and  large  measure  of 
accuracy,  there  is  a  confused  representation  of  the  Amazon 
which  is  striking.  Between  the  equator  and  the  twentieth 
parallel  south  there  are  drawn  two  large  rivers,  rising  in  the 

^  The  river  is  similarly  represented  on  the  Furlani  map  of  1660. 


46  America:   Its  Geographical  History, 

Andes,  and  flowing  in  almost  parallel  courses  toward  the  east, 
and  connecting  in  the  middle.  The  northern  one  is  called 
"  Amazonum  uel  Oregliana  fl.,"  and  the  southern  one,  "  Mar- 
agnon/'  Near  the  mouth  of  the  latter  is  the  inscription :  "jR^o 
Maragnone  cuius  ostium  distat  ah  ostio  Amazonis  ft.  10 ^  lends 
teste  TheiuioP  How  this  confusion  arose  it  would  be  interest- 
ing to  know;  but  it  is  not  here  the  place  to  go  into  possible 
explanations,  none  of  which  would  be  better  than  conjecture. 
On  the  Judaeis  map  of  1593  are  to  be  found  some  interesting 
statements,  as  in  the  far  west :  "7?i  his  montibus  habitant  diversae 
nationes  qui  continuis  bellis  inter  se  conflictantur :  Avanares, 
Albardi,  Calicuas,  Tagil,  Apalchen  pluresque  aliae^  The 
eastern  part  of  the  territory  now  occupied  by  the  United  States 
is  divided  into  "  Fraucia  Nov^a,"  ^  Virginia,'  and  ^  Carolina.' 
In  Virginia  a  mountain  range  running  east  and  west  has 
near  it  the  name  '  Apalchen,'  while  the  mountains  separating 
this  English  territory  from  the  French  one  of  Carolina,  bear 
the  inscription  ^^Apalatei  monies  in  guibus  aurum  et  argentumJ^ 
Quite  a  number  of  local  names  occur  both  in  the  east  and  west, 
and  Canada  is  fairly  well  represented".  The  latter  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century  was  on  the  whole  rather  barren  of  results  in 
the  growth  of  geographical  knowledge  of  America,  and  we 
find  very  little  that  is  new,  either  in  books  of  description  or  on 
the  maps. 

The  opening  of  the  seventeenth  century  saw  the  establish- 
ment of  a  permanent  French  settlement  in  Canada,  and  a 
lasting  colony  of  English  planted  in  Virginia ;  and  from  these 
two  centres  explorations  into  the  interior  were  made,  and 
maps  thereof  drawn,  so  that  from  this  time  on  we  see  the 
continual  growth  of  the  inland  geography  of  the  main  portion 
of  the  northern  continent.  The  French  penetrated  to  the 
north  and  west  of  the  head  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  brought 
to  light  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  beyond, 
and  did  also  some  exploring  in  the  present  New  England, 
where  they  came  into  collision  with  the  English.  The  intrepid 
John  Smith,  setting  out  from  the  struggling  colony  of  James- 


Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions.         47 

town,  explored  the  waters  of  the  neighboring  bay  and  rivers, 
and  the  Atlantic  coast-line  up  through  New  England.  French 
exploration  went  on  more  rapidly  than  the  English,  because 
of  the  religious  zeal  of  the  former's  monastic  orders.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  English  colonists  had  come  to  stay  and  make 
homes  for  themselves ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  such  rare 
enthusiastic  spirits  as  John  Smith,  they  did  but  little  exploring 
merely  for  the  sake  of  seeing  the  country,  when  they  were 
not  seeking  a  place  to  found  a  new  colony.  Before  the  middle 
of  the  century,  the  sea-board  between  the  French  on  the  north 
and  Virginia  on  the  south  was  occupied  by  several  colonies 
from  the  Netherlands  and  Sweden,  as  well  as  from  England ; 
and  the  general  maps  soon  began  to  show  something  of  a 
political  aspect.  Already  on  the  map  published  by  Hakluyt 
in  1589  there  was  an  attempt  to  draw  boundary  lines,  the 
first  map  on  which  we  have  observed  anything  of  the  kind. 
In  North  America  there  are  only  four  divisions: — 1,  the 
great  northwest,  containing  the  legend  '  America  sive  India 
Nova  ; '  2,  to  the  northeast  was  *  Nova  Francia  ; '  3,  south  of 
this,  '  Florida,'  and  the  remainder  to  the  isthmus  ^  Hispania 
noua.'  South  America  is  divided  into  five  great  provinces  : 
'  Caribana '  in  the  north  ;  '  Humos  Brasi,'  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Amazon  east ;  '  Chiba '  in  the  south  ;  '  Peru  '  in  the  west ; 
while  the  centre,  between  the  middle  Amazon  and  the  Plata, 
received  the  name  *  Amazones.'  The  second  map  of  this 
nature,  known  to  us,  is  a  French  map  of  about  1640,  the 
original  of  which  is  in  the  Dep6t  de  la  Marine  of  Paris.  This 
is  a  rude  map  without  lines  of  latitude  and  longitude,  and  the 
coast-lines  by  no  means  accurately  drawn  ;  but  it  is  interesting 
as  showing  the  conception  of  the  division  of  the  continent,  at 
that  time  probably  accepted  by  the  French.  The  basin  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  which  forms  by  far  the  largest  part  of  the  map, 
has  no  specific  name.  Far  to  the  northwest  is  tlie  "  Lac  des 
hurons,"  out  of  which  a  river  flows  toward  the  southeast,  which 
empties  into  the  St.  Lawrence  just  east  of  the  ^  lac  s  louis.' 
Southwest  from  the  latter  are  '  lac  francois,'  ^  lac  Ontario '  and 


48  America:   Its  Geographical  History, 

'  Lac  erie/  ^  Lac  Champlain  '  is  also  given,  much  distorted 
in  form.  From  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  the  Atlantic  coast 
stretches  almost  due  west,  is  indented  with  bays  and  rivers, 
and  the  whole  territory  divided  into  six  districts,  which, 
beginning  in  the  east,  are  designated  as  follows  : — "  lacadia," 
"  la  nouuelle  angleterre,''  "  la  nouuelle  holande/'  "  la  nouuelle 
suede,''  "  la  uirginie,''  and  "  la  floride."  These  are  all  marked 
off,  the  one  from  the  other,  by  definite  lines,  and  a  mountain 
range  separates  them  on  the  north  from  Canada.  We  may 
as  well  here  note  a  peculiar  feature  of  this  map,  which  recurs 
on  a  number  of  other  early  maps,  that  is  the  fact  that  a  con- 
tinuous watercourse  connects  the  Atlantic,  on  the  New  England 
coast,  with  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  We  see  thus  the  rude 
beginnings  of  political  geography,  that  side  of  the  science 
wiiich  at  present  attracts  the  most  popular  attention.  It  seems 
hard  to  realize  that  the  vast  territory,  the  political  aspect  of 
which  could,  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  be  sufficiently 
represented  in  such  crude  form,  is  now  filled  with  an  immense 
population ;  and  that  a  good  map  of  it  should  represent 
innumerable  boundary  lines  of  country,  state,  and  county ; 
and  contain  hundreds  of  dots  showing  the  situation  of  as  many 
cities,  towns,  and  villages. 

As  early  as  1609  we  find  a  map  of  Lescarbot,  giving  some 
of  the  political  features  of  Canada ;  for  instance,  "  Kebec  " 
appears  for  the  first  time,  and  there  are  also  "Saincte  Croix," 
"Sagenay,"  "Hochelaga,"  etc.  For  the  town  last  named 
there  is  on  the  map  a  drawing  of  five  houses  within  a  stockade, 
the  whole  surmounted  by  the  French  jkur-de-lis.  The  river 
Kennebec  is  called  "  Kinibeki,"  probably  the  native  name  as 
the  French  understood  it,  from  which  the  present  form  has 
been  abridged.  The  French  discovery  of  the  Iroquois  Indians 
is  here  brought  to  light,  and  the  name  is  used  twice,  as  desig- 
nating respectively  a  country  and  a  river.  The  rivers  of  St. 
John  and  St.  Croix  are  drawn  almost  parallel,  and  empty 
into  the  Bay  of  Fundy  which  is  distorted  ;  their  names  are 
spelled,  "R.  S.  Jan"  and  "  Saincte  Croix."     In  the  1625 


Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions.         49 

edition  of  Purchas  there  is  a  very  well  drawn  map  of  this 
region,  on  which  quite  a  number  of  names  occur  that  are 
not  found  on  other  maps,  as  Clyde  and  Twede  for  the  St.  John 
and  St.  Croix  respectively;  Cape  Cod  receives  its  present 
name  and  is  better  drawn  than  on  any  previous  map  noted. 
The  then  new  settlement  of  Plymouth  is  placed  considerably 
further  north  than  Cape  Cod.  "  De  la  war  bay"  is  evidently 
the  Chesapeake,  for  into  it  flow  the  rivers  on  which  are  the 
settlements  of  ^^ James  Citti"  and  "Henrico,"  while  at  its 
mouth  are  capes  Charles  and  "  Henric."  However,  no  other 
bay  is  given  as  lying  between  this  and  the  Hudson  river. 
"  New  Scotlande  "  includes  all  of  the  territory  now  occupied 
by  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick.  On  de  Laet's  map  of 
"  Florida  et  Regiones  Vicinae,"  of  the  same  year,  the  interior 
is  well  filled  with  Indian  names  of  native  villages,  to  which 
are  added  those  of  European  origin,  such  as  "  S.  Augustin  " 
of  Florida,  "  Charlesfort "  near  "  Port  Royal "  in  the  present 
South  Carolina,  etc.  "  Apalatcy  Montes,"  and  a  district  under 
the  name  "  Apalache  "  attract  also  our  attention,  because  of 
their  evident  relation  to  modern  well  known  names.  No.  91, 
of  the  Kohl  Collection,  reproduces  for  us  a  curious  map 
extracted  from  a  work  published  in  1628  under  the  title  of 
"  The  World  encompassed  by  Sir  Fr.  Drake."  Here  New 
England  is  placed  northwest  of  New  France,  and  the  whole 
continent  is  called  "  North  America  or  Mexicana,"  probably 
the  greatest  extent  ever  given  the  name  Mexico,  which,  as 
elsewhere  remarked,  was  originally  the  name  of  only  a 
quarter  or  district  of  the  capital  city  of  the  Aztecs.  The 
extreme  northwestern  part  of  the  continent  is  styled  "  New 
Brittayne,"  and  in  the  northern  part  of  South  America 
appears  for  the  first  time  "Guiana;"  "Bonos  Ayres,"  also  a 
new  name,  is  applied  to  a  small  affluent  of  La  Plata. 

Kohl  gives  us  copies  of  three  maps  published  in  1630  in 

de  Laet's  work  on  the  New  World.     These  show  extended 

information  on  the  part  of  their  compiler,  not  only  as  to  the 

projects  of  settlement  of  his  own  country  but  also  the  work 

4 


50  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

in  that  direction  done  by  other  and  rival  nations.  One  of  these 
maps  is  entitled  ^^Americae  sive  Indiae  Occidentalis  Tabula  Gen- 
eralis/^  and  the  two  continents  are  called  respectively,  "  Sep- 
tentrionalis  Americae  pars/'  and  "  Meridionalis  Americae 
pars."  "  Tierra  del  Fuego  '^  is  cut  off  on  the  south  with  a 
dotted  line,  it  being  already  known  that  there  was  open  sea 
beyond  it,  since  de  Laet's  countrymen  had  passed  that  way  in 
1616 ;  but  as  they  did  not  explore  the  islands  in  detail,  the 
land's  extent  is  here  marked  as  unknown.  Some  idea  of  the 
Great  Lakes  had  already  penetrated  to  Europe,  as  the  St. 
Lawrence  River  is  here  represented  as  rising  in  a  lake  to  the 
northwest,  which  lake  has  no  western  bounds.  Just  west  of 
"C.  Cod,"  (which  on  one  of  the  maps  is  called  "  C.  Blanc"), 
the  territory  is  called  "Novum  Belgium,"  while  "Nova 
Anglia"  is  further  north,  and  to  the  west  of  Nova  Scotia. 
"  R.  Pentegouet "  is  evidently  meant  for  Penobscot,  though 
the  name  seems  to  be  more  nearly  related  to  Pemaquid,  also 
evidently  an  Indian  name,  which  was  applied  to  a  settlement 
made  about  that  time  in  this  vicinity  ;  and  "  R.  Quinibequi " 
is  to  us  a  new  form  of  Kennebec.  In  such  names  as  "  Cadie," 
"Nieuw  Engeland,"  "Vossen  haven,"  [Boston  Haven], 
"  Hellegat,"  "  Manbatte,"  [Manhatten],  "  Nieuw  Nederland," 
"Noordt  River,'  "Zuyd  River,"  we  easily  recognize  old 
friends,  dressed,  however,  in  somewhat  strange  habiliments. 
South  America  also  contains  many  names  which  by  this  time 
had  come  into  more  or  less  general  use. 

Champlain's  map  of  1632  is  the  work  of  a  careful  explorer 
who  understood  also  how  to  depict  what  he  had  seen.  The 
territory  represented  on  this  map  is  almost  exclusively  that 
visited  by  the  draughtsman  himself  and  included  under  the 
name  Nouvelle  France.  The  St.  Lawrence  rises  in  Lake  St. 
Louis,  west  of  which  are  two  small  lakes  without  names.  To 
the  northwest  is  shown  an  immense  body  of  water  under  the 
name  "  Mer  douce,"  with  its  greatest  extent  from  east  to  west. 
This  error  continued  for  a  long  time  to  disfigure  the  maps  of 
this  region  ;  for  the  early  explorers  did  not  realize  that  Geor- 


Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions.         51 

gian  Bay,  though  connected  with,  is  not  a  part  of  Lake  Huron. 
Still  further  west  there  is  "  Grand  lac,^^  evidently  Lake  Su- 
perior. Of  course  Lake  Champlain  is  given,  the  special 
discovery  of  the  maker  of  this  map ;  but  it  is  too  broad  for 
its  length ;  and  for  Lake  George  there  is  represented  a  wide 
bay  near  the  southwest  end  of  the  main  lake ;  while  the  general 
trend  of  the  whole  is  northeast  and  southwest,  rather  than 
north  and  south,  as  it  is  in  reality.  On  the  Maine  coast  is 
the  settlement  "  Pemetegoit,"  probably  Pemaquid,  and  further 
to  the  east,  St.  Croix ;  Quebec  is  spelled  as  now. 

In  the  work  of  William  Wood,  entitled  '^  New  England's 
Prospect,  a  true,  lively  and  experimental  description  of  that 
part  of  America,  commonly  called  New  England,"  there  is  a 
map  of  "  The  South  part  of  New  England,  as  it  is  planted 
this  yeare  1634."  The  degrees  of  latitude  are  marked  on  the 
eastern  margin,  and  the  city  of  Boston  is  placed  at  42J  degrees, 
which  is  very  accurate  for  that  period,  as  the  position  is  now 
put  at  42°  22'  [Scribner-Black  Atlas,  1890].  On  this  map, 
an  American  begins  to  feel  at  home,  when  he  encounters  a 
considerable  number  of  old  familiar  names,  such  as  Salem, 
Roxbury,  Charlestowne  [applied  to  both  settlement  and  river], 
Dorchester,  Nantasket,  Cohassett,  ^Sitliate'  [Scituate],  New 
and  Old  Plymouth,  ^  Pascataque  Riuer '  [Piscataqua  River], 
'  Islands  of  Shoulds  '  [Isles  of  Shoals],  '  Merimock '  River, 
Cape  Ann,  Marble  Harbor,  Nahant  Point,  ^  Narrogansett's ' 
bay  and  river,  etc. 

In  "A  relation  of  Maryland,"  published  in  1635,  there  is  a 
map  of  that  region,  with  the  west  turned  toward  the  top. 
"  Chesapeack  bay  "  is  elaborately  drawn,  and  extends  fully  up 
to  the  40th  degree  of  north  latitude,  while  Delaware  Bay  is 
crudely  represented,  as  if  known  only  by  hearsay,  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  scale  given  on  the  map  itself,  does  not  reach  the 
40th  parallel  by  eight  "  Sea  Leagues."  Between  the  upper 
waters  of  the  two  bays  is  the  name  of  a  tribe  of  Indians, 
"  Sasquehannocks,"  doubtless  the  origin  of  the  name  of  Penn- 
sylvania's long  river,  the  Susquehanna.    The  chief  river  of 


62  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

the  region  as  shown  on  the  map  is  the  "  Patowmeck,"  at  whose 
mouth  is  placed  the  then  new  settlement  of  Lord  Baltimore, 
with  the  elaborate  name  of  "  St.  Maries  Augusta  Catolina." 
The  settled  part  of  Virginia  is  also  added  to  the  map  and  the 
usual  names  given. 

From  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  general 
features  of  the  Atlantic  sea-board  were  fairly  well  known  in 
one  part  or  another  of  Europe ;  and  for  the  future  we  shall 
remark  only  such  features  of  the  maps  that  come  under  notice 
as  are  new,  or  for  some  other  reason  are  of  special  interest.  Im- 
migration to  the  New  World  was  now  an  established  thing,  and 
the  stream,  though  not  so  mighty  as  it  was  in  time  to  become, 
was  already  quite  constant ;  and  many  there  were,  not  only 
anxious  to  come  for  a  time,  for  the  sake  of  adventure  or  spec- 
ulation, but  who  found  here  life  more  agreeable  or  at  least 
more  tolerable,  than  in  the  fatherland.  It  is  not  possible  in 
geographical  works  to  follow  the  gradual  penetration  of  the 
wilderness  by  individual  pioneers,  how  their  families  grew  up 
about  them,  and  friends  and  acquaintances  were  attracted 
thither,  till  in  time  a  settlement  was  there,  large  enough  to 
call  attention  to  its  existence.  But  such  is  the  true  historical 
development  precedent  to  the  growth  of  our  geography, 
especially  on  its  political  side. 

The  second  half  of  the  century  was  a  busy  one  in  America ; 
and  while  the  English  colonists  were  engaged  in  laying  the 
foundations  of  a  future  great  commonwealth,  the  French,  in 
their  self-sacrificing  fnissionary  labors,  were  bringing  to  light 
vast  stretches  of  the  continent,  whose  immensity  till  then  had 
not  even  been  dreamed  of.  All  of  the  Great  Lakes  were  soon 
on  the  maps,  with  a  fair  idea  of  their  inter-connection ;  and 
the  Mississippi,  from  its  head-waters  almost,  even  to  its  mouth 
in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  was  traversed  and  mapped,  while  the 
size  of  the  streams  flowing  into  it,  furnished  the  first  ground 
for  estimating  the  immensity  of  the  country  drained  by  its 
waters.  A  French  anonymous  map  of  1660  gives  all  the 
Great  Lakes  :  "  Lacus  Ontarius,"  very  well  drawn  ;  "  Lac  " 


Geogra'phy  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions,         53 

"  Erius  s.  Felis,"  less  so ;  "  Lacus  aquarum  Marinarura/'  the 
name  given  to  Lake  St.  Clair,  which  however  is  represented  as 
only  a  slight  broadening  of  the  river ;  "  Mare  dulce  sen  Lacus 
Huronum/^  is  Lake  Huron,  as  usual  much  exaggerated  in  its 
breadth  ;  "  Lacus  Superior  "  is  not  known  as  far  as  its  western 
extremity  j  only  the  northeastern  portion  of  Lake  Michigan 
is  depicted,  and  bears  the  legend  "Magnus  lacus  Algon- 
quinorum  seu  Lacus  Faetentium."  This  map  shows  also  an 
acquaintance  on  the  part  of  the  French,  with  the  Virginia 
settlements,  and  also  with  the  Swedish  settlements  on  the 
Delaware.  Of  about  ten  years  later  is  another  anonymous 
French  map  with  the  title  "  Lac  Superieur,  et  autres  lieux,  oil 
sont  les  Missions  des  Peres  de  la  Compagnie  de  Jesus,"  etc. 
Here  the  entire  lake  is  represented,  and  bears  the  name  of 
Tracy  as  w^ll  as  its  more  usual  and  now  universal  one  of 
Superior.  It  is  drawn  too  long,  by  about  100  miles,  accord- 
ing to  the  scale ;  but  when  we  consider  that  this  is  the  first 
attempt,  as  far  as  we  know,  to  represent  this  entire  body  of 
water,  and  that  the  only  survey  thereof  had  been  a  crude 
reconnaissance,  we  must  rank  the  work  as  of  high  quality. 
Lake  Michigan  has  the  name  "  Lac  des  Illinois ; "  and  near 
the  junction  of  the  lakes  we  find  the  beginnings  of  the  modern 
towns  of  Ignace  and  Mackinaw,  under  the  term  missions. 

Kohl  gives  in  No.  227  of  his  collection  a  map  which  he 
believes  to  be  a  copy  of  the  one  which  Father  Marquette  him- 
self made  during  his  voyage  on  the  Mississippi  in  1673.  The 
latitude  is  marked  on  the  margins,  and  includes  the  territory 
from  the  32d  to  the  48th  degree  north.  Here  are  met  some 
strange-looking  names,  which,  however,  have  evidently  con- 
nection with  some  well-known  modern  ones.  The  Missouri 
river  is  not  named,  but  near  it  is  placed  a  tribe  of  Indians 
with  the  name  "  Oumesourit ;  '^  while  not  far  off  is  another 
tribe  named  "  Kansa."  At  the  junction  of  the  Mississippi, 
with  an  unnamed  river  which  is  probably  the  Arkansas,  is 
another  tribe  of  Indians  called  "  Arkansea."  On  the  Ohio 
Hiver  is  found  "  R.  Ouabouskiaou,"  which,  according  to  Kohl, 


54  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

is  the  original  of  our  Wabash.  "Kachkaska''  is  a  small 
stream  flowing  east  into  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  "  Lac 
des  Illinois ;  "  a  name  that  is  doubtless  Kaskaskia,  and  since 
that  time  transferred  to  a  river  in  the  southern  part  of  Illinois, 
which  flows  into  the  Mississippi.  Another  map  of  the  same 
year  is  extracted  from  Tiievenot's  work  of  Voyages  and 
Travels,  and  represents  the  same  region.  On  the  first  map 
the  Mississippi  bore  the  name  Conception,  while  it  here 
receives  a  name  recognizable  as  related  with  its  modern  one, 
"  Mitchisipi  ou  Grande  Riviere."  The  latitude  of  most  places 
is  wrongly  represented,  and  no  attempt  is  made  to  give  their 
longitude.  The  map  bears  also  a  less  number  of  recognizable 
names.  Worthy  of  remark  is  the  fact  that,  during  his  voyage, 
Marquette  was  told  by  the  Indians  that  beyond  the  source  of 
the  Missouri,  there  rose  another  river  which  flows  westward, — 
probably  the  first  intimation  on  this  side  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains of  the  existence  of  the  Columbia  River.  Of  two  years 
later  is  the  Joliet  map  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  which  region 
is  called  on  the  map  "  La  Colbertie  ou  Amerique  Occidentale ; " 
and  the  Father  of  Waters  itself  is  named  after  the  French- 
man Colbert.  The  Allegheny  and  Ohio  Rivers  are  not  named, 
but  bear  the  legend  "  Riviere  par  ou  deseendit  Le  Sieur  de  la 
Salle  au  sortir  du  Lac  Erie  pour  aller  dans  le  Mexique." 
Niagara  Falls  receive  the  striking  name  "Sault  de  demi 
lieue."  On  another  map  made  by  Joliet,  probably  during  the 
following  decade,  the  head  waters  of  the  Mississipi  are  placed 
in  about  54  degrees  of  north  latitude,  and  the  name  has 
become  modified  to  "  Messisipi."  Of  about  the  same  period 
is  a  map  of  Raffeix  on  which  we  meet  for  the  first  time 
"  Ohoio  La  belle  Riviere."  Father  Hennepin's  map  of  1683 
gives  us  "  La  Louisiane "  for  the  first  time,  and  applies  to 
some  of  the  Great  Lakes  names  not  elsewhere  met  with. 

But  detail  grows  perhaps  wearisome,  and  to  continue  the 
geographical  history  of  the  United  States  at  the  same  rate 
would  fill  a  volume,  instead  of  being  part  of  an  hour's 
lecture.     The  subject  in  itself,  however,  cannot  fail  to  be  in- 


Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions.         55 

teresting  to  any  one  who  desires  to  know  the  development  of 
his  country. 

Before  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  there  was  in 
Europe  a  knowledge  of  the  general  features  of  the  territory 
of  the  United  States,  with  the  exception  of  the  far  north- 
west ;  and  during  the  eighteenth  century,  this  knowledge  was 
somewhat  increased  in  detail.  Veranderie  succeeded  in  pene- 
trating west  from  Lake  Superior  to  the  Rocky  Mountains ; 
and  Le  Page  du  Pratz  relates  the  story  of  an  Indian  named 
Moncacht  Ape,  who  in  1745  made  his  way  over  the  moun- 
tains, and  descended  the  "  Beautiful  River,"  as  he  called  the 
stream  on  whose  waters  he  voyaged  to  the  Pacific.  We  are 
not  accustomed  to  think  of  Indians  as  explorers,  who  leave 
their  homes  and  wander  several  thousand  miles  merely 
for  the  sake  of  gratifying  their  curiosity.  However,  there 
seems  little  room  for  doubt  in  reference  to  this  first  recorded 
exploration  of  the  Pacific  slope  by  any  one  coming  from  the 
country  east  of  the  Mississippi.  But  the  eighteenth  century 
did  on  the  whole  very  little  toward  opening  up  the  vast 
interior  of  this  great  continent  to  the  knowledge  of  civil- 
ized man ;  and  we  pass  accordingly  to  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century,  when  the  then  young  and  zealous  federal 
government,  under  the  lead  of  Jefferson,  purchased  Louisiana, 
and  sent  out  explorers  to  report  on  the  territory  which  had 
thus  come  into  our  possession.  These  opened  the  way,  which 
hardy  pioneers  seeking  for  homes  were  not  slow  to  follow ; 
and  what  was  thus  begun  was  accelerated  by  the  discovery  of 
gold,  as  the  middle  of  the  century  drew  near.  This  fact  has 
had  more  effect  in  a  few  decades  than  mere  human  curiosity  to 
penetrate  the  secrets  of  nature  had  had  in  as  many  centuries. 
Look  upon  a  map  of  the  great  West,  of  the  last  century  or  of 
only  half  a  century  ago,  and  on  one  of  the  present  day,  and 
behold  the  evidences  of  the  work  of  man ;  for  nature  during 
that  period  has  remained  practically  the  same,  and  all  the 
immeasurable  difference  there  observable  is  due  to  human 
energy. 


56  America:  Its  Geographical  History, 

Polar   Chorography. 

We  turn  now  to  a  region  which,  though  among  the  earliest 
portions  of  the  New  World  to  attract  attention,  is  the  last  to 
be  well  known,  because  of  the  inherent  difficulties  of  explor- 
ing it.  Here  is  the  one  part  of  the  earth  where  a  love  of 
science  has  been  to  a  large  extent  the  moving  factor  in  its  ex- 
ploration, and  where  wealth  and  life  itself  have  been  offered 
up  in  the  most  generous  manner  in  order  to  bring  to  us  a 
knowledge  of  it.  From  the  suggestion  of  Cabot  in  the  fif- 
teenth century  to  the  present,  interest  thei'ein  has  sometimes 
been  at  a  low  ebb,  but  never  for  any  length  of  time  been 
entirely  wanting.  Here  is  the  region  also  where  imagination 
has  played  the  greatest  r6le;  and  much  of  the  geographical 
representation  of  which  is  purely  the  product  of  fertile  brains 
without  any  foundation  in  fact  or  experience.  Something  of 
this  feature  has  been  told  in  treating  of  the  Pacific  coast ;  and 
in  the  short  time  at  our  disposal  now,  it  will  be  better  to  con- 
fine the  attention  to  the  facts  of  the  case  as  shown  on  various 
relatively  trustworthy  maps. 

The  first  explorers  of  the  frigid  regions  of  the  Atlantic 
were,  however,  not  actuated  by  any  higher  motives  than  those 
of  commercial  gain ;  for  they  desired  to  reach  the  wealth  of 
the  Orient  by  a  passage  which  could  not  be  blocked  by  the 
Portuguese,  who  by  right  of  first  discovery  and  by  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  See,  had  the  sole  title  to  the  route  via  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.  Furthermore,  if  found,  the  route  by  the  north- 
west passage  would  be  much  shorter,  especially  for  the  nations 
of  northern  Europe,  than  that  around  Africa.  Though  much 
of  this  region  was  doubtless  known  to  the  Northmen  from  the 
eleventh  to  the  fourteenth  century,  no  maps  of  that  period  are 
known  to  us,  except  that  of  the  Italian,  Zeno,  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  which  however,  was  not  given  to  the  world 
till  the  year  1558.  This  map  contains  a  variety  of  names, 
some  of  which  were  reproduced  on  maps  down  to  a  compara- 
tively late  period  ;  and  about  the  signification  of  which  there 


Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions.         57 

has  been  a  great  deal  of  learned  dispute.  Probably  as  rational 
interpretation  of  these  names  as  we  can  find  is  that  of  Major, 
who  has  made  a  careful  study  of  the  matter.  He  gives  the 
modern  equivalents  of  the  names  as  follows :  ^  Engroelant/ 
Greenland  ;  '  Islanda/  Iceland  ;  ^  Estland/  the  Shetland 
Islands  ;  ^  Frisland/  Faroe  Islands  ;  ^  Markland/  Nova  Scotia ; 
'  Estotiland/  Newfoundland ;  ^  Drogeo/  coast  of  North 
America ;  '  Icaria/  coast  of  Kerry  in  Ireland. 

As  of  Columbus's  first  voyage,  so  of  Cabot's,  there  remains 
no  map  to  tell  us  just  where  he  saw  the  American  coast. 
Years  later  Sebastian  Cabot  made  a  map  of  the  New  World, 
which,  however,  attempts  to  portray  all  that  was  known  up  to 
the  time  of  drawing  it ;  so  that  there  are  no  means  of  ascertain- 
ing just  what  had  been  discovered  by  his  father  or  himself.  The 
oldest  map  which  represents  the  northeastern  part  of  North 
America,  and  belonging  to  what  may  be  called  the  Columbian 
period  of  discovery,  in  contradistinction  to  that  of  the  North- 
men, is  the  Cantino  map  of  1 502,  which  shows  early  Portu- 
guese discoveries  in  the  north.  On  another  Portuguese  map, 
of  1504,  we  find  "Newfoundland  and  Labrador  under  the 
name  of  ^  Terra  de  Cortte  Eeall,'  and  Greenland  with  no  name, 
but  so  correctly  represented  as  to  form  strong  evidence  that 
it  was  reached  by  Cortereal ''  [H.  H.  Bancroft].  This  is  the 
most  accurate  map  of  that  region  which  appeared  for  a  long 
time.  Those  in  the  editions  of  Ptolemy  of  1508  and  1511  are 
not  at  all  well  drawn  as  regards  this  portion ;  and  even  as  late  as 
the  Schoener  globe  of  1520,  not  as  much  is  known  in  Germany 
of  this  region  as  is  depicted  on  this  early  Portuguese  map.  This 
state  of  the  case  continued  until  the  English  explorations  were 
renewed  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  the 
meantime  Zaltieri  in  1566  and  Ortelius  in  1570  had  made  an 
approach  toward  a  fair  representation  of  the  northern  regions; 
but  whether  these  were  the  result  of  surmises  on  their  part  or 
whether  they  knew  of  explorations  in  those  parts,  of  which 
we  have  no  records,  I  cannot  say.  In  1578  appeared  George 
Best's  "A  true  discourse  of  the  late  voyages  of  discoveries,  for" 


58  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

"  the  finding  of  a  passage  to  Cathaya  by  the  North  West  under 
the  conduct  of  Martin  Frobisher,  general!,  ..."  In  this 
work  there  is  a  map  of  the  world  in  the  form  of  a  flattened 
ellipse,  the  most  northerly  part  of  which  is  occupied  by  four 
immense  islands,  bearing  the  title  "  Terra  Septentrionalis." 
South  of  the  western  half  of  these  are  "  Frobishers  Straights,'' 
the  eastern  portion  of  which  contains  a  group  of  islands 
that  Frobisher  himself  called  Terra  Incognita.  On  Dee's  map 
of  1580  the  polar  regions  receive  careful  treatment,  and  the 
strait  discovered  by  Frobisher  is  well  represented  ;  but  is  con- 
tinued inland,  to  an  indefinite  extent.  Here  are  also  some  of 
the  names  of  the  Zeno  map.  The  Lok  map  of  two  years  later 
shows  much  more  evidence  of  actual  acquaintance  with  the 
region,  though  the  knowledge  has  by  no  means  yet  become 
accurate.  Frisland  is  here  a  peninsula  in  the  far  northeast, 
extending  below  the  60th  parallel,  while  '  Island '  is  just  north 
of  ^  Hibernia,'  on  the  Arctic  Circle.  ^  Groenland '  is  all  above 
the  circle,  extending  almost  to  80  degrees  north.  To  the 
northwest  of  this  there  is  also  ^lac.  Scolvus  Groetland.' 
Frobisher  Strait,  Lok  Island,  and  other  names  also  appear. 

In  1585,  1586,  and  1587,  John  Davis  made  his  celebrated 
arctic  voyages,  and  opened  up  much  new  territory  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  English ;  but  I  have  seen  no  map  from  his 
hand,  or  that  is  the  direct  product  of  his  discoveries.  Cer- 
tainly, the  map  of  the  world,  by  lohannes  Myrtius,  contained 
in  a  book  bearing  the  date  1590,  whose  introduction  is  dated 
1587,  contains  no  glimmer  of  such  information^  Hakluyt's 
map  of  1589  takes  but  little  notice  of  any  English  discoveries 
in  the  far  north,  and  continues  the  already  known  strait  west- 
ward into  the  Pacific.  Of  the  other  discoveries,  there  is  no  trace. 
Wytfliet's  map  of  1597  has  at  60  degrees  north  a  "Golfo  de 
Merosro,"  southwest  of  which  is  placed  "  Terra  Corterealis," 
"  which,"  says  Kohl,  "  supports  the  old  tradition,  that  Cor- 
tereal  entered  a  strait  or  gulf  in  that  latitude,  and  that  this 
Gulf  of  Cortereal  was  our  Hudson's  Strait."  On  Hakluyt's 
later  map,  of  1598,  are  located  both  "  Fretum  Davis"  and 


Geography  of  the  Interior  and  Polar  Regions.         59 

"  Frobisher's  Straights ;  '*  and  south  of  the  latter  is  "  Estoti- 
land."  The  map  in  Purchas,  1625,  begins  to  bear  some 
resemblance  in  the  north  to  our  present  conception  of  that 
country.  "  Fretum  Hudson  "  leads  west  to  Hudson  Bay  ; 
and  the  western  part  of  the  latter  is  called  "  Button  Bale," 
with  the  connecting  shore  between  them  still  omitted.  To  the 
northeast  is  "  Parte  of  Groenland,  with  "  C.  Farewell  '^  at  its 
southern  extremity,  and  ^'Fretum  Davis"  separating  it  from 
the  mainland.  On  the  English  map,  extracted  from  the  work 
on  the  voyage  of  Francis  Drake,  there  is  added  to  what  we 
have  noted  on  the  other  maps,  "  Baffin's  Bay,"  which  had 
been  discovered  sixteen  years  before  by  the  man  whose  name 
it  bears.  Of  the  year  1631  there  is  a  work  devoted  to  the 
description  of  the  voyage  of  the  discoverer  of  James  Bay, 
accompanied  by  a  good  map  of  the  region  visited. 

From  this  time  on,  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century, 
there  was  but  little  done  toward  bringing  to  light  the  secrets  of 
this  vast  country,  forever  under  the  rule  of  winter.  But  the 
valuable  work  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  in  connection  with  his 
tragic  fate,  reopened  the  subject  in  the  first  half  of  our  cen- 
tury ;  and  since  then  the  various  nations  of  the  civilized  world 
have  vied  with  each  other  in  their  efforts  to  penetrate  the  veil 
that  hitherto  has  concealed  this  country  from  view.  A  great 
complex  of  islands  and  numerous  water  ways  have  been  map- 
ped for  us,  the  limits  of  the  mainland  designated,  and  the 
fact  established  that  a  water  communication  between  the  At- 
lantic and  Pacific  does  exist  here;  but  all  hope  has  been 
abandoned  that  it  will  ever,  at  least  in  our  era,  prove  practica- 
ble for  commerce.  Fortunately  the  need  for  it  has  long  since 
disappeared,  and  the  high  seas  have  become  free  as  the  air  to 
all  who  trust  themselves  to  their  treacherous  waves. 


IV. 

Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names. 

America, 

The  discovery  of  a  New  World  has  made  Columbus  the 
hero  of  centuries,  and  his  name  has  been  mentioned  with  almost 
universal  praise.  The  maps  however,  give  no  prominence  to 
that  name,  but  bear  in  large  letters  the  name  of  another ;  and 
both  he  who  bore  this  name  in  life,  and  he  who  proposed  its 
adoption  in  the  world's  geography,  have  been  decried  and  exe- 
crated almost  as  much  as  lauded.  How  have  such  anomalies 
come  about?  To  Clio  we  must  look  for  the  answer;  but, 
though  the  roll  she  bears  in  her  hand  contains  all  truth,  she 
never  lets  any  one  individual  see  the  whole  ;  and  accordingly 
accounts  differ  as  to  what  men  have  there  found.  We  must 
therefore  not  expect  the  absolute,  unalterable  truth  in  applying 
to  History  for  an  explanation  of  the  past ;  but,  examining  such 
fragments  as  she  offers  to  our  view,  judge  of  their  contents  in  a 
manner  consistent  with  the  most  probable  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem to  which  we  apply  ourselves.  In  the  present  case  the  con- 
test lies  between  Spain  and  Germany ;  between  a  country  that 
strove  to  grasp  all  in  secrecy,  and  one  whose  subjects  remained 
at  home  and  sought  to  diffuse  knowledge ;  between  the  sword 
and  the  pen  :  and,  as  history  has  so  often  demonstrated,  the  pen, 
in  this  case  also,  was  the  stronger.  Recently  there  has  developed 
another  struggle,  based  on  the  fact  that  theorists  have  arisen 
who  are  trying  to  destroy  the  authenticity  of  the  records  of 
the  centuries,  and  who  find  the  name  America  a  product  of  the 
60 


Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names.      61 

land  that  bears  it,  and  not  a  latinized  form  of  the  name  of  a 
man  who  has  been  branded  as  a  braggart  and  an  impostor. 

Columbus  started  out  in  1492  to  find,  not  a  New  World, 
but  the  Asia  which  Marco  Polo  had  described  in  such  glow- 
ing terms,  and  whose  riches  and  spices  were  valuable  beyond 
measure.  Though  he  came  to  the  western  hemisphere  four 
times  and  touched  the  continent  of  America  twice,  he  lived 
and  died  in  the  belief  that  he  had  visited  the  eastern  part  of 
Asia.  He  was  told  of  the  existence  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  but 
in  his  blindness,  gave  the  information  another  interpretation. 
He  saw  little  or  nothing  such  as  Marco  Polo  had  described, 
yet  he  compelled  his  companions  to  swear  that  they  believed 
themselves  on  the  coast  of  Asia.  He  tried  to  have  his  dis- 
coveries kept  secret  even  from  his  fellow  countrymen,  and  his 
government  attempted  to  prevent  the  knowledge  passing  out- 
side their  realms ;  so  that  when  the  rest  of  the  world  had  any 
information  of  the  new  discoveries,  they  were  at  liberty  to 
apply  to  the  regions  known  such  names  as  pleased  their  fancy. 
Columbus  claimed  for  himself  wealth  and  political  power  as 
the  reward  of  his  discovery,  and  died  poor  and  neglected, 
though  his  descendants  received  what  he  had  desired.  But 
another  visited  these  shores,  with  facile  pen  in  hand,  and  gave 
to  the  world  through  his  friends  and  patrons  a  glowing 
description  of  the  beauties  and  wonders  his  eyes  had  beheld 
in  that  strange  country  ;  and  added  "  Novum  mundum  appel- 
lare  licet ; "  and  for  a  long  time  it  was  so  called :  but  as  in  the 
case  of  Magellan,  the  name  which  he  proposed  for  the  strait 
of  his  discovery  gradually  gave  way  to  his  own  name,  so  in 
this  other  case,  the  name  proposed  by  Americus  Vespucius 
gradually  made  room  for  his  own  name.  Though  Vespucius 
was  not  probably  the  original  discoverer  of  the  coast  of  South 
America,  he  was  the  first  to  tell  the  world  what  an  extensive  and 
magnificent  country  it  is ;  and  a  world,  grateful  for  the  infor- 
mation, and  liking  the  sound  of  the  name,  adopted  it.  As  he 
was  a  foreigner,  the  Spaniards  were  long  unwilling  to  receive 
that  appellation  ;  but  though  they  could  conquer  the  greatest 


62  AmeiHca:   Its  Geographical  History. 

part  of  the  New  World,  they  did  not  in  the  end  have  the 
privilege  of  naming  it :  and  their  selfish  secrecy  is,  in  our 
humble  opinion,  the  prime  cause  of  the  fact. 

Inasmuch  as  Columbus  believed  that  he  was  sailing  in  the 
waters  of  Asia,  he  had  no  reason  to  seek  a  new  name  for  the 
whole  extent  of  territory  which  he  visited ;  moreover,  he  did 
not  see  nearly  so  much  of  the  mainland  as  in  all  probability 
Vespucius  did  ;  and  for  local  names  he  was  content  to  apply 
the  names  of  saints,  or  a  name  suggested  by  his  experience  at 
a  given  point,  or  even  to  adopt  the  native  name,  as  he  under- 
stood it  from  the  mouths  of  the  Indians.  Vespucius  may 
still  have  thought  this  to  be  a  part  of  Asia ;  but  he  evidently 
recognized  the  difference  between  what  he  saw  and  what  he 
had  expected  to  see  in  the  land  of  Marco  Polo ;  and  in  all 
earnestness  he  proposed  the  name  New  World  for  this  enor- 
mous extent  of  country  ;  and  even  the  Spaniards  accepted  his 
proposition. 

There  are  grave  discrepancies  in  the  accounts  we  have  of 
the  life  of  Vespucius,  and  also  in  his  own  accounts  of  his 
voyages  to  America.  But  that  seems  to  us  to  have  little  to  do 
with  the  acceptance  of  his  name  for  the  western  continents. 
If  it  comes  to  a  question  as  to  the  justness  of  so  honoring 
him  above  Columbus,  then  even  if  he  had  seen  the  continent  a 
year  or  so  earlier  than  the  great  admiral,  it  would  be  unjust 
to  give  him  the  preference;  for  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
he  would  never  have  visited  the  western  hemisphere  if  Colum- 
bus had  not  shown  the  way.  But  the  two  men  were  of  entirely 
different  moulds;  and  the  result  is  in  accordance  therewith. 
The  one  sought  immediate  power  and  wealth  ;  and  largely  by 
his  own  mismanagement  failed ;  but  the  justness  of  history 
has  given  him  his  due  theoretically,  while  helpless  to  alter  the 
habits  of  men ;  the  other  sought  notoriety  by  the  aid  of  his 
pen ;  the  world  read,  was  interested  and  entertained,  and 
formed  the  habit  of  speaking  of  the  region  and  the  man  who 
first  revealed  it,  in  the  same  breath  ;  and  as  man  is  a  creature 
of  habit,  the  name  will  probably  endure  as  long  as  the  race 


Historical  Notes  on  Cei^tain  Geographical  Names.       63 

which  now  inhabits  the  continent.  The  history  of  geography- 
shows  that  the  names  of  the  prominent  features  of  a  land  are 
most  enduring,  as  witness  the  names  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver, 
the  Ohio,  Missouri,  and  others,  names  used  by  the  Indians 
who  have  long  since  been  gathered  to  their  fathers ;  and  whose 
descendants,  if  there  be  any,  are  living  far  away  from  the 
graves  of  their  ancestors.  If  they  had  possessed  a  general 
name  for  the  entire  continent,  that,  too,  would  perhaps,  nay, 
probably,  have  been  preserved  to  this  day ;  but  as  that  was 
lacking,  and  another,  convenient  and  euphonius,  was  proposed, 
it  was  accepted  and  will  probably  endure  for  untold  ages  to  come. 
In  the  year  following  the  death  of  Columbus,  there  was 
published  in  a  small  town  of  Lorraine,  a  work  of  but  fifty- 
two  small  quarto  pages,  which  contained  a  proposition, 
modestly  worded,  but  which  was  to  result  in  naming  the  great 
stretch  of  land  that  occupies  the  western  hemisphere.  This 
pamphlet  bore  the  title  Cosmographiae  Imtrodvctio,  .  .  .  In- 
super  quatuor  Artierici  Vespucij  Nauigationes.  It  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  complete  edition  of  the  writings  of  Vespu- 
cius  on  the  New  World,  although  portions  of  them  had  appeared 
earlier.  These  writings  were  destined  to  become  popular ;  and 
before  1530  there  were  issued  in  French,  German,  Italian,  and 
Latin  at  least  fourteen  editions  of  them.  The  important 
passage  for  us  in  this  work  reads  in  English  as  follows : — 
"  But  now  that  those  parts  have  been  more  extensively 
examined,  and  another  fourth  part  has  been  discovered  by 
Americus  (as  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel),  I  do  not  see  why  we 
should  rightly  refuse  to  name  it  America,  namely,  the  land  of 
Americus  or  America,  after  its  discoverer,  Americus,  a  man  of 
sagacious  mind,  since  both  Europe  and  Asia  took  their  names 
from  women."     (H.  H.  Bancroft.)  ^     If  those  had  been  days 


^  The  original  as  given  by  Peschel  [Abhandlungen  zur  Erd-  und  Vol- 
kerkunde,  231-2],  reads  : — ^'  Nunc  vero  et  hae  partes  [Europa,  Africa,  Asia'] 
sunt  latius  lustrafce  et  alia  quarta  pars  per  Americum  Vespucium  {ut  in  sequenti- 
bus  audietur)  inventa  est,  quam  non  video  cur  quisjure  vetet  ah  Americo  inventore, 
sagacis  ingenii  viro  Amerigen  quasi  Americi  terram  sive  Americam  dicendam : 
cum  et  Europa  et  Asia  a  mulieribus  sum  sortita  sint  nomina." 


64  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

when  newspaper  notoriety  could  be  purchased  for  money,  there 
might  be  some  foundation  for  the  modern  accusation  that 
Vespucius  was  in  collusion  with  the  editor,  and  so  responsible 
for  depriving  Columbus  of  the  honor  of  having  his  name 
attached  to  the  world  he  had  discovered  ;  but  if  that  had  been 
the  case,  he  would  probably  have  chosen  some  other  press  for 
the  propagation  of  his  scheme,  than  a  comparatively  obscure 
one  far  away  from  the  centre  of  exploring  activity.  The 
ruling  duke  of  Lorraine  happened  to  be  a  promotor  of  learn- 
ing, and  had  gathered  at  the  littte  town  of  St.  Di6  a  small 
company  of  learned  men  to  conduct  the  local  university,  one 
of  whom  was  especially  interested  in  geography,  and  another 
of  whom  had  studied  in  Paris  and  possibly  met  a  personal 
friend  of  Vespucius.  These  men  planned  the  issue  of  a  new 
edition  of  the  geographical  work  of  Ptolemy,  and  made  their 
preparations  accordingly.  As  a  preliminary,  this  little  Intro- 
dvctio  was  published  on  the  25th  of  April,  1507  ;  but  the 
main  work  was  interrupted  by  the  death  of  the  patron  duke, 
and  the  Ptolemy  was  not  issued  till  1513,  and  was  then 
printed  in  Strasburg.  Furthermore,  the  map  of  America  in 
that  Atlas  does  not  bear  the  name  America.  In  the  meantime, 
Vespucius  had  died,  having  lived  on  cordial  terms  with  the 
family  of  Columbus,  although  there  had  continued  for  several 
years  a  suit  at  law  between  that  family  and  the  Spanish  Court 
in  reference  to  the  first  discovery  of  the  northern  coast  of 
South  America ;  in  which,  however,  Vespucius  made  no  claim 
to  be  the  first  discoverer,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the 
work  of  Hylacomylus  was  known  in  Spain  and  Columbus' 
son  possessed  a  copy  of  the  same,  wherein  the  statement  occurs 
that  Vespucius  had  made  a  voyage  to  the  mainland  in  the 
year  1497.  This  statement  has  been  interpreted  to  mean 
North  and  Central  America,  and  there  is  a  bare  possibility  of 
his  having  made  such  a  voyage ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that 
he  himself,  then  or  at  any  period  of  his  life,  laid  claim  to  be  the 
original  discoverer  of  the  continent.  All  of  his  so-called  four 
voyages  have  been  declared  by  his  assailants  to  be  apocryphal, 


Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names.       65 

although  three  have  been  proven  beyond  reasonable  doubt,  to  be 
authentic.  This  relieves  him  of  the  charge  of  being  an  impostor ; 
and  it  may  yet  possibly  be  shown  that  the  first  voyage  also 
was  really  made.  At  least  the  contrary  has  not  been  proven. 
However,  Santarem  '^  claims  that  one  hundred  thousand  doc- 
uments in  the  Royal  Archives  of  Portugal,  and  the  register 
of  maps  which  belonged  to  King  Emmanuel,  make  no  mention 
of  Yespucius,  and  that  there  is  no  register  of  the  letters  patent 
which  Vespucius  claimed  to  have  received.  Nor  is  there  any 
mention  in  several  hundred  other  contemporary  manuscripts 
preserved  in  the  great  library  at  Paris,  and  in  other  collections, 
which  Santarem  says  he  has  examined."  (Winsor.)  As  he 
is  bitterly  hostile  to  the  fame  of  Vespucius,  these  sweeping 
statements  should  probably  be  received  with  some  allowance. 
Mr.  Gay,  in  Winsor^s  Narrative  and  Critical  History,  gives 
form  to  an  idea  that  the  name  was  originally  meant  to  be 
applied  only  to  that  country  surrounding  a  settlement  which 
Vespucius  established  near  Cape  Frio,  and  that  by  the  force 
of  circumstances,  this  name  came  to  be  applied  to  the  whole 
continent.  He  says  :  —  "The  precise  spot  of  this  settlement 
is  uncertain ;  but  as  it  was  planted  by  Vespucci,  and  as  it  was 
the  first  colony  of  Europeans  in  that  part  of  the  New  World, 
there  was  an  evident  and  just  propriety  in  bestowing  the 
derivative — America — of  his  name  upon  the  country,  which 
at  first  was  known  as  ^  The  Land  of  the  True  Cross,'  and 
afterward  as  ^  Brazil.'  The  name  of  Brazil  was  retained  when 
the  wider  application — America — was  given  to  the  whole  con- 
tinent.'' (II.  152.)  That  this  is  a  possible  solution  of  the 
difl&culty  can  be  shown  from  analogous  cases  in  the  history  of 
America.  Thus  Cartier  gave  the  name  St.  Lawrence  to  a  little 
bay  near  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River ;  and  the  gradual 
change  from  that  application  to  the  whole  Gulf  and  River 
which  now  bear  the  name  can  be  traced  on  the  maps.  Like- 
wise we  have  the  authority  of  Kohl  for  the  statement  that 
Gautimala  was  originally  the  name  of  the  city  and  residence 
of  a  powerful  cacique  in  southeastern  Mexico,  to  which  district 
5 


66  America:    Its  Geographical  History. 

Cortes  had  sent  Alvarado  in  1523  ;  and  the  name  occurs  in  the 
latter's  report  of  his  expedition  to  his  general ;  furthermore, 
that  at  one  time,  almost  all  of  Central  America  was  under  the 
^^Audiencia^'  or  general  government  of  that  name.  Still  more 
striking  is  the  name  of  Mexico,  which  at  first  was  applied  to 
only  a  district  of  the  capital  city  of  Montezuma,  and  was 
gradually  enlarged  in  its  application,  till  it  embraced  the  whole 
country. 

We  can  scarcely  realize  in  these  days  of  newspapers  and  the 
publication  of  thousands  of  books  annually,  that  before  the 
year  1507  only  two  descriptions  of  the  western  discoveries  had 
appeared,  namely,  one  letter  of  Columbus,  and  one  of  Vespu- 
cius.  No  wonder  then  that  a  curious  public  eagerly  bought 
Waldseemuller's  little  quarto,  and  called  for  four  editions  of 
the  same  in  a  short  time ;  no  wonder  that,  by  perusing  it,  the 
public  was  lead  to  believe  that  Vespucius  was  the  great  dis- 
coverer. Can  it  then  seem  strange  to  us  that  the  Germans  at 
least  were  willing  to  attach  his  name  to  the  country  of  which 
they  had  first  heard  through  his  writings  alone  ?  It  has  gener- 
ally been  supposed  that  the  earliest  map  to  bear  the  name 
America  was  that  of  Apianus  or  Bienewitz,  of  the  year  1 520, 
which  appeared  in  an  edition  of  the  geographical  work  of 
Solinus,  published  in  Vienna  in  1522.  Of  the  same  period 
is  the  Nuremberg  globe  of  Schoener  (1520),  whereon  the 
name  America  also  occurs.  Then  there  is  a  map,  long  ascribed 
to  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  and  now  in  the  queen's  collection  at 
Windsor,  and  thought  to  be  of  the  year  1513  or  1514,  where- 
on the  name  is  drawn ;  but  the  date  of  the  map  is  uncertain, 
and  Winsor  says :  "  Its  connection  with  Da  Vinci  is  now 
denied.'^  On  the  other  hand  there  is  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Kalbfleisch  of  New  York,  an  anonymous  "  Cosmographiae 
Introductio,^^  thought  by  the  critics  to  be  of  the  year  1517,  in 
which  there  is  a  map  with  the  name  America,  of  which 
Mr.  Winsor  remarks :  "  There  is  fair  ground  for  supposing 
that  it  antedates  all  other  printed  maps  yet  known  which 
bear  this  name."     The  same  author  believes  the  Frankfort 


Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names.       67 

globe  of  1515  to  be  the  first  drawing  on  which  the  name 
occurs. 

Upon  the  map  by  Apianus,  the  name  is  situated  along 
the  eastern  coast  of  Brazil,  south  of  Cape  Augustine,  and 
reads  ^'America  provincia ;^^  and  on  Schoener^s  globe  of 
1520  it  reads  '^ America  vel  Brasilia  sive  Papagalli  teri^a;^^ 
thus  showing,  as  Mr.  Gay  suggests,  that  it  was  originally  in- 
tended to  apply  the  name  only  to  that  portion  of  the  country 
where  Vespucius  had  been,  and  in  whose  neighborhood  he  may 
have  attempted  to  found  a  colony.  That  the  name  was  not 
rapidly  adopted,  we  gather  from  the  assertion  of  Peschel  that, 
of  twenty-two  editions  of  Ptolemy's  tables  that  were  issued  dur- 
ing the  sixteenth  century,  the  name  America  is  nowhere  found ; 
but  Mr.  Winsor  assures  us  that  the  name  occurs  in  the  Ptolemy 
of  1522.  The  Germans,  however,  stood  by  their  countryman, 
in  upholding  his  proposition  ;  and  on  Mercator's  map  of  1541 
the  name  America  is  applied,  for  the  first  time  we  believe,  to 
both  continents  of  the  western  hemisphere ;  and,  in  the  words 
of  Mr.  Winsor,  "thus  the  injustice  was  made  perpetual."  As 
early  as  1519  or  1520  there  was  a  book  published  in  London 
with  the  title  New  Interlude,  in  a  verse  of  which  the  name 
America  occurs;  and  not  long  after,  (1522)  appeared  the  first 
English  book  to  treat  of  America,  which  however  it  called 
"  Armenica."  It  is  entitled  "  Of  the  newe  lades  and  of  ye 
people  founde  by  the  Messengers  of  the  Kynge  of  portygale.'' 
This  same  year  Friess  issued  his  "Orbis  typus  universalis,^^ 
etc. ;  and  on  the  map  showing  his  conception  of  the  New 
World,  the  name  America  is  found  designating  the  continent 
of  South  America.  Apianus  published  in  1524  a  ^^Cosmo- 
graphicus  Liber/^  which  contains  a  short  chapter  on  America, 
in  which  he  makes  the  direct  statement  that  the  land  was 
named  from  Vespucci,  its  discoverer.     (H.  H.  Bancroft.) 

The  Spanish  maps  of  1527  and  1529,  so  frequently  mentioned 
already,  both  designate  South  America  by  the  name  Novus 
Mundus,  the  name,  as  we  have  seen,  proposed  by  Vespucius 
himself.    Among  the  Spaniards  this  name  alternated  with  New 


68  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

Indies  and  West  Indies ;  as  they  were  for  a  long  time  unwil- 
ling to  accept  the  German  usage.  Las  Casas  in  his  Historia, 
begun  in  1527,  shows  that  he  knew  of  the  German  usage,  for 
he  says :  "  Foreign  writers  call  the  country  America/'  (Quoted, 
Winsor,  II,  p.  174).  The  Spaniards  then  began  to  propose 
other  names,  which,  however,  never  had  any  currency ;  such 
as  Colonia,  Columbiana,  and  Columba ;  while  one  enthusiast 
went  so  far  as  to  wish  to  unite  the  names  of  the  sovereigns, 
under  whom  Columbus  made  his  voyage  of  discovery,  in  the 
awkward  compound  Fer-Isabelica.  Cabral  had  named  the 
stretch  of  the  Brazilian  coast  seen  by  him.  Land  of  the  True 
Cross ;  and  that,  or  more  commonly.  Land  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
continued  for  some  time  to  adorn  the  Spanish  maps,  but  was 
finally  superseded  by  the  shorter  and  more  euphonious  name 
America. 

On  an  anonymous  map  of  about  1530,  and  the  Grynaeus 
map  of  1531,  America  is  the  name  given  to  South  America; 
and  in  1532  appeared  the  Novus  Orbis  of  this  same  Grynaeus, 
in  which  "the  assertion  is  made  that  Vespucci  discovered 
America  before  Columbus,  which  aroused  the  wrath  of  Las 
Casas,  and  seems  to  have  originated  the  subsequent  bitter 
attacks  on  Vespucci.''  (H.  H.  Bancroft.)  About  the  middle 
of  the  century,  we  find  on  the  Xancy  globe  and  on  a  map  in 
the  work  of  Friess,  the  name  America ;  but  though  in  South 
America,  it  is  in  neither  case  given  any  very  great  prominence. 

In  1570  was  published  Ortelius'  atlas,  the  first  product  of 
modern  times  worthy  the  name.  It  contained  a  map  of  the 
New  World  which  became  the  model  of  many  succeeding 
ones ;  and,  as  it  bore  the  name  America,  it  brought  that  name 
into  such  general  use  that  it  could  not  thereafter  be  gotten  rid 
of.  The  influence  thus  exercised  was  greatly  strengthened  by 
the  issue  of  Mercator's  atlas  in  1598.  These  two  men,  the 
greatest  geographers  of  their  age,  were  friends;  and  their 
united  influence  in  spreading  this  name  for  the  New  World 
surpassed  the  power  of  Spain  or  any  other  nation  to  root  it 
out.    Of  course  we  must  recognize  the  fact  that  its  euphonious 


Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names.       69 

sound,  and  its  analogy  to  the  names  of  the  other  continents, 
were  also  not  without  effect;  but  just  therein  lay  a  part  of 
their  good  judgment  in  giving  their  adhesion  to  an  idea  which 
of  itself  was  likely  to  attract  the  masses  as  well  as  thought- 
ful men.  A  map  of  1575  by  Thomas  Porcacchi  da  Castiglione 
bears  the  title  Hondo  Nvovo  ;  but  in  his  remarks  he  says  that 
some  called  it  the  "  American  Indies,"  a  name  we  have  not 
elsewhere  noticed.  On  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert^s  map  of  the 
following  year,  the  name  America  is  applied  exclusively  to 
North  America,  and  Peru  is  apparently  given  to  the  whole  of 
South  America.  Martin  Frobisher,  on  his  map  of  1578, 
gives  America  in  letters  of  the  same  size  as  Europe,  Asia,  etc. ; 
and  evidently  intends  to  use  the  name  for  the  whole  western 
mainland.  Hakluyt's  map  of  1589  has  the  title  America 
sive  India  Nova,  which  is  doubtless  intended  for  the  entire 
continent. 

On  the  map  by  Hondius,  of  the  same  year,  America  is 
placed  in  large  capitals  in  North  America  ;  and  South  America 
is  divided  into  provinces,  each  with  its  own  local  name ;  but 
it  is  probable  that,  less  of  the  interior  of  North  America  being 
known,  he  took  occasion  thus  to  fill  it  up  with  the  name  in- 
tended for  the  whole.  Still  another  map  of  this  same  year, 
that  of  Judaeus,  employs  the  name,  and  that  in  a  somewhat 
new  manner,  having  ^  Terra  America '  in  North  America ;  and 
on  a  later  map,  the  same  author  calls  North  America  ^Americae 
pars  horealisJ  The  following  year  produced  a  map  with  titles 
for  the  two  continents,  which  so  far  as  we  know,  are  almost 
unique ;  for  Petrus  Plancius  calls  North  America,  ^America 
Mexicana/  and  the  southern  continent,  ^America  Peruana.^ 
The  map  of  Johannes  Oliva,  published  at  Marseilles  in  1613, 
compromises  between  the  Spanish  and  German  methods  of 
naming  the  New  World,  and  applies  to  North  America 
^America  sive  India  Nova/  and  to  South  America,  '  Hondo 
nouo ; '  the  latter  however  in  small  letters,  placed  near  the 
Plata  River.  The  map  in  the  1625  edition  of  Purchas  gives 
us  ^America  Septentrionalis  ;  '  and  in  the  text  there  is  related 


70  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

a  conversation  in  which  Juan  de  Fiica  speaks  of  "  the  Indies 
now  called  North  America."  On  the  map  which  accompanies 
"  The  World  encompassed  by  Sir  Francis  Drake,"  there  is  a 
similarity  to  the  usage  noted  above  in  connection  with  the  map 
of  Plancius,  namely,  the  northern  continent  is  called  '  North 
America  or  Mexicana,'  and  the  southern  continent,  '  Sovth 
America  or  Peru.'  On  De  Laet's  map  of  1630  there  is 
another  slight  variation  of  the  name,  the  title  reading  'Ame7'- 
icae  sive  Indiae  Occidentalis  Tabula  Gerieralis/  while  on  the 
part  occupied  by  the  northern  continent  we  read  'Septentrionalis 
Americae  joarsj  Thus  we  have  followed  the  development  of 
the  usage  of  the  name  proposed  in  an  obscure  town  of  Lor- 
raine, for  the  northeastern  coast  of  South  America,  until  it 
was  accepted  by  a  large  part  if  not  the  whole  of  the  learned 
world,  for  the  entire  hemisphere ;  and  which,  by  the  addition 
of  adjectives,  gradually  distinguished  between  the  north  and 
the  south.  The  designation  Central  America  is  of  late  origin  ; 
and  I  have  not  seen  it  on  any  map  antedating  the  present 
century. 

The  above  is  we  believe  the  true  historical  genesis  of  the 
geographical  term  America ;  but  it  would  not  do  to  dismiss 
the  subject  without  mentioning  the  fact  that  within  recent 
years  there  have  been  broached  two  other  theories  which,  if 
we  had  not  direct,  trustworthy,  historical  statements  to  the 
contrary,  might  have  at  least  a  show  of  plausibility.  The 
first  is  that  of  Mr.  Jules  Marcou,  and  was  published  in  the 
Atlantic  Monthly  in  March,  1875,  pp.  291  et  seq.  His  fund- 
amental proposition  is  as  follows  : —  '^  Americ,  Amerriqite,  or 
Amerique  is  the  name  in  Nicaragua  for  the  high  land  or 
mountain  range  that  lies  between  Juigalpa  and  Libertad,  in 
in  the  province  of  Chrontales,  and  which  reaches  on  the  one 
side  into  the  country  of  the  Carcas  Indians,  and  on  the  other 
into  that  of  the  Ramas  Indians."  He  then  proceeds  to  show 
that  words  of  similar  ending  are  frequent  in  the  native  languages 
of  Central  America,  and  remarks  on  the  tenacity  with  which 
local  names  survive,  such  as  those  of  mountains,  valleys,  lakes, 


Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names,      71 

and  rivers.  Turning  then  to  the  last  voyage  of  Columbus,  in 
which  he  visited  the  coast  of  Central  America,  and  the  fact  of 
his  having  found  stores  of  gold  among  the  natives  there,  he  be- 
lieves that,  to  the  question  as  to  whence  came  such  wealth,  the 
natives  must  have  replied  "  Americ."  "  We  may  suppose,'^ 
adds  Mr.  Marcou,  ''that  Columbo  and  his  companions  on 
their  return  to  Europe,  when  relating  their  adventures,  would 
boast  of  the  rich  gold  mines  they  had  discovered  through  the 
Indians  of  Nicaragua,  and  say  they  lay  in  the  direction  of 
Americ.  This  would  make  popular  the  word  Americ,  as  the 
common  designation  of  that  part  of  the  Indies  in  which  the 
richest  mines  of  gold  in  the  New  World  were  situated."  He 
supposes,  further,  that  the  name  gradually  penetrated  to  the 
interior  of  the  continent  of  Europe,  till  it  reached  the  little 
town  of  St.  Di^.  But  he  offers  not  one  particle  of  contem- 
poraneous evidence  that  such  was  the  case.  True,  there  are 
often  movements  of  historical  importance  of  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  follow  the  early  steps ;  but  surely,  if  this  supposi- 
tion of  our  author  were  correct,  some  one  of  the  many  Spanish 
documents  of  the  time  would  contain  at  least  a  hint  of  the 
fact;  and  even  those  pronounced  enemies  of  the  name  America, 
such  as  Navarrete  and  Mufioz,  find  not  a  trace  of  such.  As 
to  the  original  proposition  to  use  the  name,  he  asserts : — 
"  Hylacomylus  of  Saint  Die,  ignorant  of  any  printed  account 
of  these  voyages  but  those  of  Albericus  Vespucius, — pub- 
lished in  Latin  in  1505,  and  in  German  in  1506, — thought 
he  saw  in  the  Christian  name  Albericus  the  origin  of  this, 
for  him,  altered  and  corrupted  word,  Americ  or  Amerique, 
and  .  .  .  called  this  country  by  the  only  name  among  those  of 
the  navigators  that  had  reached  him,  and  which  resembled 
the  word  Americ  or  Amerique."  To  this  he  adds  that 
Hylacomylus  knew  only  the  forms  Albericus  and  Alberico  of 
Vespucius'  name,  in  as  much  as  the  other  forms  Amerigo  and 
Morigo  existed  only  in  Spanish  documents  that  remained  un- 
published until  many  years  after  the  death  of  Hylacomylus. 
But  that  this  is  probably  not  the  case,  is  strongly  indicated  by 


72  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

the  text  of  Hylacomylus  himself,  who,  in  proposing  the  name, 
evidently  sought  a  form  similar  to  that  of  the  other  quarters 
of  the  globe,  and  himself  employs  the  phrase  ^'Amerigen  quasi 
Americi  terram  sive  Americam  dicendamy  The  very  fact  of 
his  using  first  the  form  Amerigen  appears  as  if  he  recognized 
that  that  was  more  closely  related  to  the  original,  but  that  he 
made  the  change  for  purposes  of  euphony. 

Mr.  Marcou  is  evidently  too  strong  in  his  assertion  as  to 
the  rarity  of  the  name  Amerigo,  since  we  find  that  two  centu- 
ries before  this,  Dante  was  familiar  with  the  names  of  the 
Spanish  poets  Amerijo  de  Pecutiano  and  Amerijo  de  Belinoi. 
Since  j  and  g  were  at  that  period  used  interchangeably,  as  we 
find  for  example  in  the  work  of  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega,  it  follows 
that  the  form  Amerigo  may  very  well  have  been  known  to 
Hylacomylus.  As  to  the  accent  not  having  been  the  same, 
we  find  that  America  was  made  analogous  by  the  Spaniards ; 
for  in  the  index  of  Barcia's  great  work  the  name  is  printed 
America. 

Mr.  Marcou  makes  a  good  point  of  the  unusual  use  of  the 
Christian  name  of  the  discoverer  for  a  land,  in  which  he  asserts 
this  case  to  be  practically  unique,  except  in  the  name  of  mon- 
archs ;  but  he  loses  sight  of  the  desire  of  Hylacomylus  to  assimi- 
late the  name  with  those  of  the  other  continents ;  and  he 
suggests  that  Vespucia,  or  some  similar  word,  would  have  been 
far  more  natural,  if  the  word  Americ  were  not  already  known 
to  the  author.  But  Vespucci  is  not  so  euphonious  or  so 
easily  pronounced  as  America;  and  these  considerations 
doubtless  had  weight  with  the  scholar  of  St.  Di^.  Another 
statement  of  this  new  theory  is :  '^  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  word  America  was  not  only  known  but 
popularized  to  a  certain  extent,  in  the  sea-ports  of  Spain, 
Portugal,  and  the  Indies,  or  it  would  not  have  been  thus  at 
once  accepted  by  universal  consent,  without  discussion."  That 
it  was  not  accepted  at  once  and  without  discussion  has  been 
sufficiently  shown,  we  believe,  in  our  treatment  of  the  matter. 
He  further  says :  "  And  it  was  employed  and  accepted  with- 


Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names.       73 

out  a  thought  of  the  pilot  Alberico  Vespuzio ;  it  was  a  long 
time  after  that  discussions  arose  among  learned  geographers, 
and  that  the  gross  mistake  of  Hylacomylus  was  imposed  upon 
the  world  as  truth/'  That  the  first  part  of  this  second  state- 
ment is  not  true,  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  the  name  was 
so  intimately  associated  with  that  of  Vespucius,  that  Columbus 
was  in  danger  of  being  thereby  forgotten  as  the  original  dis- 
coverer :  and  as  above  remarked,  it  was  this  fact  that  roused 
the  wrath  of  Las  Casas  against  the  admirers  of  Yespucius, 
and  opened  the  discussion,  which  has  continued  from  that  time 
to  the  present.  That  commencement  was  not  however  so  long 
after  the  first  publication  of  the  St.  Die  tract  as  one  would  be 
led  to  suppose  by  Mr.  Marcou's  assertion  ;  for  it  was  the  work 
of  Grynaeus,  which  appeared  in  1 632  that  is  supposed  to  have 
precipitated  the  discussion ;  and  Las  Casas  died  in  1556,  so' 
that  the  discussion  must  have  started  between  these  dates. 
Furthermore,  Las  Casas  was  in  a  splendid  position  to  know  if 
the  name  originated  in  America  or  in  St.  Di^;  for  his  father 
was  a  companion  of  Columbus  on  his  first  voyage,  and  he 
himself  took  part  in  the  third  voyage,  and  spent  many  years 
in  the  New  World.  The  facts  that  he  introduces  into  the  dis- 
cussion not  a  word  or  hint  that  the  name  was  of  native  origin, 
and  ascribes  its  use  only  to  foreign  writers,  are  at  least  strong 
negative  evidence  that  the  name  was  not  ^'  popularized,  to  a 
certain  extent,  in  the  sea-ports  of  Spain." 

The  most  recent  theory  that  has  come  to  our  notice  is  that 
entitled  "  Discovery  of  the  Origin  of  the  Name  of  America, 
by  Thomas  de  St.  Bris.  New  York,  1888.  Abridged  Popu- 
lar Edition.^'  This  is  an  octavo  pamphlet  of  140  pages,  with 
a  number  of  illustrations  which  seem  to  us  but  little  germain 
to  the  subject  in  hand.  The  style  is  obscure,  and  the  author 
has  a  method  of  punctuation  all  his  own.  He  gives  a  biblio- 
graphy of  63  numbers,  and  quotes  foreign  authors  in  English 
in  such  a  manner,  that  it  is  at  times  impossible  to  know  posi- 
tively whether  he  is  translating  literally,  or  interspersing  his 
own  ideas  in  the  translation.     These  peculiarities  of  style  are 


74  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

unfortunate,  as  they  naturally  repel  the  reader  from  the 
examination  of  a  work  that  is  evidently  the  result  of  much 
research  and  thought.  We  have  not  had  time  to  consult 
many  references  of  the  author ;  but  as  one  was  at  hand,  it  was 
examined,  and  found  to  convey  a  very  different  meaning  from 
that  implied  by  Mr.  de  St.  Bris.  In  note  3,  p.  58,  he  says  : — 
"Many  authors,  unaware  that  America  was  the  national 
name  of  the  Southern  Continent,  could  not  understand  the 
Spanish  pioneers,  who  gave  this  name  to  several  places  on  the 
coast,  and  cartographers  hotly  disputed  the  question ;  as  to 
which  was  correct,  without  finding  that  they  all  were  *.'' 
The  *  refers  to  the  bottom  of  the  page  where  a  note  reads, 
"  See  Kohl,  Maracapana."  Referring  to  his  bibliography,  the 
only  work  of  Kohl  mentioned  is  "  Die  beiden  dltesten  General- 
Karten  vmi  Ameriha,''^  No  page  is  given  in  the  note ;  but  on 
page  121  of  the  above-named  work,  under  the  heading  Mara- 
capana  we  read  as  follows  :  "The  name  Marcapana  appears  on 
both  our  maps  not  only  improperly  spelled  but  also  in  a  false 
position.  The  port  ^Maracapana'  made  known  by  Hojeda's 
[Ojeda^s  (?)]  expedition  lay  west  of  Margarita  and  Cumana, 
and  is  perhaps  the  modern  port  of  Barcelona.  All  the  good 
later  maps.  .  .  ,  have  also  Maracapana  in  the  west  where 
Herrera  placed  it.  According  to  Navarrete  it  should  be  our 
Puerto  Cochima.^'  ^  This  passage  gives  us  no  ground  for  the 
assertion  that  the  question  was  "  hotly  disputed,"  for  it  says 
that  "  all  the  good  later  maps  "  placed  the  name  Maracapana 
in  the  same  place.  Neither  does  it  even  hint  that  both  posi- 
tions were  correct.  Furthermore,  we  would  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  Mr.  de  St.  Bris  separates  the  word  Maraca-pana 


^  "  Der  Name  Maracapana  scheint  auf  unsern  beiden  Karten  sowohl 
unrichtig  geschrieben,  als  auch  eine  falsche  Position  erlialten  zu  haben. 
Der  von  der  Expedition  des  Hojeda  bekannte  Hafen  "  Maracapana  "  lag 
westlich  von  Margarita  und  Cumana  und  ist  vielleicht  unser  heutiger  Hafen 
von  Barcelona.  Alle  guten  spiitern  Karten  .  .  .  haben  auch  das  Maracapana 
dort  im  westen,  wohin  es  Herrera  versetzt.  Nach  Navarrete  soil  es  unser 
Puerto  Cochima  sein." 


Historical  Notes  on  Cetiain  Geographical  Names.       75 

into  two  parts,  in  order  to  strengthen  the  impression  of  his 
theory ;  but  Kohl  does  not  do  so ;  and  America  is  very  far 
from  being  a  form  of  Maracapaua. 

However,  whether  correct  or  not,  our  author^s  theory  is 
interesting.  His  central  idea  is  that  the  native  name  of 
the  immense  territory  occupied  by  the  so-called  Peruvians 
and  their  allied  and  kindred  nations,  was  a  modified  form 
of  the  name  America ;  that  this  name  was  composed  from  the 
words  amarUj  the  name  of  their  holy  symbol  the  cross,  formed 
by  a  snake,  their  holy  animal,  and  a  stick  ;  to  which  was  added 
the  word  ca,  meaning  land.  Thus  Amaruca,  or  usually 
America,  was  the  land  of  the  holy  animal.  "  We  have,  there- 
fore, at  the  period  of  the  Spanish  pioneers,  the  South  American 
continent,  under  two  great  Kingdoms,  of  one  name,  and  prob- 
ably only  one  government ;  in  an  advanced  state  of  civiliza- 
tion, civilly  if  not  morally."  "  The  population  of  the  Empire 
of  Amaraca — which  extended  along  the  Pacific  coast  for  three 
thousand  miles — was  estimated  at  twelve  millions.''  In  the 
course  of  the  work,  a  considerable  variety  of  names  are  quoted 
from  different  authors,  all  of  which  are  interpreted  as  signify- 
ing America  although  the  word  in  this,  its  permanent  form, 
seems  to  have  been  nowhere  found  until  the  suggestion  of  St. 
Die.  This  suggestion  he  attributes  to  Walter  Ludd  ;  and  be- 
sides, he  loses  sight  of  the  fact,  that  from  that  time  on  the 
form  remained  constant,  as  applied  to  the  whole  continent, 
though  the  local  names,  from  which  he  derives  it,  continued 
to  be  variable.  In  addition  to  the  use  of  the  word  Amaraca, 
with  a  great  variety  of  prefixes  and  suffixes,  we  are  told  that 
Cax-Amaica,  Tamaraka,  Tamaragua,  Aymarca,  Aromaia,  are 
all  really  America.  The  divergence  in  the  methods  of  spel- 
ling is  explained  by  the  use  of  sign  language  among  the 
natives ;  but  that  "  every  European  spelled  the  name  with 
different  letters,  which  he  supposed  to  be  more  correct  than  his 
neighbor,  who  was  left  to  guess  what  was  meant.''  He  at- 
tempts to  fortify  his  theory  by  quotations  from  Walter  Raleigh, 
Alexander  von  Humboldt,  and  others  ;  in  fact  from  any  source 


76  America:    Its  Geographical  History. 

whatever,  where  a  word  in  the  least  resembling  America  is 
employed.  One  of  the  extracts  from  Raleigh's  account  of 
Guiana  reads  as  follows : — "  For  when  the  Spaniards  con- 
quored  the  saide  Empire  of  Peru,  and  had  put  to  death 
Atabalipa,  which  had  formerly  caused  his  elder  brother 
Guascar  to  be  slaine,  one  of  his  younger  brothers  fled  out  of 
Peru,  and  tooke  with  him  many  thousands  of  those  souldiers 
of  the  Empire,  called  Oreiones  (noblemen),  and  with  these, 
and  many  others  which  followed  him,  he  vanquished  al  that 
tract  and  valley  of  America,  situated  between  the  rivers 
Orenoco  and  Amazon."  In  quoting  this  passage,  de  St.  Bris 
claims  that  Walter  Kaleigh  "  is  the  only  author  who  has — as 
far  as  we  know — correctly  given  the  native  name  of  the  coast 
of  America,  first  visited  by  Columbus."  We  think,  however, 
that  our  author  here  strains  a  point  for  the  sake  of  his  theory ; 
for  we  do  not  believe  that  any  one,  not  having  such  a  theory 
to  defend,  would  interpret  the  phrase  "al  that  tract  and  valley 
of  America,"  in  any  other  manner  than  as  designating  the 
part  of  the  whole  continent  of  America,  namely  that  between 
the  Orinoco  and  Amazon,  which  the  writer  intended.  The 
English  language  is  often  ambiguous  in  the  use  of  the  prep- 
osition of;  and  so  it  is  just  possible,  though  not  at  all  proba- 
ble, that  Raleigh  meant  the  name  America  to  be  applied  to 
the  valley,  and  no  more.  We  must  take  into  account  the  fact 
that  this  book  was  written  late  in  the  sixteenth  century,  when 
the  name  America,  as  applied  to  the  New  World  was  no 
longer  a  novelty,  at  least  in  the  north  of  Europe ;  and  would 
fall  naturally  from  the  pen  of  such  a  man  as  Raleigh,  as  the 
name  of  the  whole  and  not  of  a  comparatively  small  portion,  or 
that  lying  between  the  Amazon  and  Orinoco.  Remarking 
that  Columbus  expected  to  find  Asia,  and  the  names  mentioned 
by  Marco  Polo,  our  author  asserts  that  Moraca-pana  "  was  a 
transformation  of  the  name  Amaraca-pana  or  America;  in 
order  to  give  it  some  resemblance  to  Mangi."  This  is  really 
beyond  credulity ;  for  if  a  man  makes  a  change,  for  the  sake 
of  establishing  a  similarity,  he  would  surely  in  such  a  case 


Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names,      77 

have  altered  the  consonants  and  not  the  vowels ;  for  we  en- 
tirely fail  to  see  that  Morica  is  much  more  nearly  related  to 
Mangi  than  Amaraca.  Another  quotation  which  he  gives  pur- 
ports to  come  from  Humboldt,  but  he  does  not  say  from  which 
work  of  that  voluminous  writer.  However  he  asserts  that 
^'  Bishop  Geraldini,  writing  from  the  new  lands  in  1515,  said 
clearly,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Pope  Leon  X.  ^That  the 
island,  was  larger  than  Europe  and  Asia,  which  the  ignorant 
call  Asia,  and  others  America  or  Paria/''  Since  Geraldini 
was  not  made  Bishop  till  1520,  there  is  evidently  an  error 
here.  For  in  as  much  as  it  is  thought  by  the  best  scholars  that 
the  name  America  was  not  in  use  among  the  Spaniards  at  so 
early  a  date,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  date  be 
accurately  known,  even  if  the  letter  is  as  quoted.  According 
to  our  author,  it  was  not  Hylacomylus  that  baptized  America 
but  the  great  emperor  Charles  V.,  of  whom  he  says  (p.  126), 
"  It  was  only  a  just  tribute,  a  golden  debt  of  gratitude,  to  erect 
an  everlasting  monument,  a  gigantic  historical  statue,  always 
on  the  lips  of  the  universe,  in  honor  of  the  late  Vice-King 
and  Lord  High  Admiral  Don  Christopher  Columbus,  by  in- 
structing his  cartographer  Gerard  Mercater  [sic],  to  write  over 
the  entire  southern  continent,  His  '  plus  ultra,'  a  world  on  His 
crest,  the  name  of  America,  where  it  appeared — so  far  as  we 
know — for  the  first  time  in  this  atlas  issued  in  1541,  to  which 
was  added  the  remark  ^  many  still  call  it  India.' ''  He  gives 
no  authority  for  this  very  remarkable  statement ;  but  in  a  foot 
note  kindly  informs  us  that  ^*  We  have  only  been  able  to  find 
circumstantial  evidence  that  Mercater  wrote  the  name  of 
America  over  the  Southern  Continent  by  the  King's  com- 
mand." !  As  we  have  elsewhere  seen,  it  was  precisely  on  this 
map  of  Mercator's  of  1541  that  the  name  America  was  for 
the  first  time  placed  on  both  continents  of  the  New  World ; 
so  here  again  there  is  a  decided  historical  flaw  in  our  author's 
argument,  to  say  nothing  of  his  assertion  in  reference  to  the 
command  of  the  emperor,  based  on  "  circumstantial  evidence." 
Furthermore,  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  was  still  living  when 


78  America:   lis  Geographical  History. 

Las  Casas  made  his  attack  on  the  name  America ;  and  if  our 
author  were  correct  as  to  this  supposition,  the  fact  would  then 
have  come  out,  and  thus  put  an  end  to  the  controversy.  One 
more  argument  of  Mr.  de  St.  Bris,  and  we  have  finished. 
"  It  is  hardly  possible,''  he  says,  **  that  people  of  education, 
would  have  attempted  to  propose  a  name  for  territory,  in 
which  they  had  not  the  slightest  interest ;  unless  they  had 
assumed  that  the  proposition  had  already  been  practically 
carried  out,  which  they  were  led  to  suppose  from  the  similarity 
of  name.''  When  we  consider  that  printing  was  then  a  com- 
paratively new  art,  and  that  book  makers  as  individuals  were 
in  a  manner  set  above  those  around  them  ;  when  to  this  is 
added  the  fact  that  in  St.  Di6  for  the  first  time,  an  edition  of 
the  entire  writings  of  Americus  Vespucius  was  published,  we 
may  well  conceive  of  the  author  believing  he  had  hit  upon  a 
happy  thought,  which  would  be  pleasing  to  both  him,  whose 
work  he  published  and  to  his  readers.  De  St.  Bris  asserts 
that  '*  the  Spaniards  had  their  principalities  of  New  Granada, 
New  Castile,  the  West  Indies,  Golden  Castles,  in  the  western 
hemisphere,  but  they  wanted  a  general  name  to  include  all 
these  possessions."  If  this  were  true  when  Mercator  came  to 
make  his  map  in  1541,  and  it  is  in  this  connection  that  the 
statement  occurs,  how  much  more  was  it  true  in  1507,  when 
Hylacomylus  made  his  proposition. 

Brazil} 

The  history  of  the  use  of  the  name  Brazil  as  a  geographical 
term  is  a  strange  one ;  for  it  was  not  always  applied  to  the 
same  territory,  with  greater  or  less  extent,  as  in  the  case  of 
most  geographical  names  ;  nor  was  it  a  case  of  natural  growth 
from  a  local  to  a  general  name,  as  was  frequently  the  case  in 
the  New  World.     On  the  contrary,  this  name  seems  to  have 

^This  chapter  appeared  in  the  April  number  of  ^^  Modern  Language 
Notes,''  1890. 


Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names.       79 

had  something  of  the  will-o'-the-wisp  character ;  for  on  various 
maps  it  may  be  seen  designating  a  great  Antarctic  continent,  ex- 
tending to  the  south  pole,  or  a  small  island  near  the  Arctic 
Circle  ;  or  it  may  be  as  far  west  as  the  southern  part  of  South 
America  or  as  far  east  as  the  vicinity  of  the  coast  of  Ireland. 
The  form  of  the  name  also  is  almost  as  various  as  the  posi- 
tions in  which  it  is  found ;  for  we  have  noted  thirteen  varia- 
tions of  the  word,  Bresilia,  Brisilia,  Brasil,  Brassil,  Brazil, 
Brazill,  Prisilia,  Brasilia,  Brasielie,  Brazili,  Brazile,  Brasi, 
Presilly, — and  it  is  not  at  all  impossible  that  still  others  exist. 
We  are  informed  that  the  word  was  in  use  before  the  dis- 
covery of  America,  to  designate  an  island,  whose  situation  is 
not  revealed,  where  navigators  were  in  the  habit  of  gathering 
wood  for  dyeing  purposes,^  and  that  after  the  discovery  of  South 
America,  this  same  species  of  tree  was  found  on  the  banks  of 
the  Amazon.  But  that  does  not  account  for  the  transferrence 
of  the  name  to  such  remote  parts  as  the  Arctic  or  Antarctic 
regions,  where  there  is  no  probability  that  the  same  kind  of 
trees  flourished.  "  Wieser  finds  the  name  Brazil,  as  applied 
to  CabraFs  Sancta  Cruz,  in.  use  ever  after  1604,"  citing  as 
the  earliest  instance  the  "terra  nova  de  Prisilli"  of  the 
"  Beschreibung  der  Meerfahrt  von  Lissahon  nach  Calacut  "  of 
that  year,  published  in  the  Jahresberichte  of  the  "  Kreisverein 
fur  Schwaben  und  Neuberg  (Augsburg,  1861),  p.  160." 
Winsor,  VIII,  375,  note  5,  where  he  cities  also  a  work  on 
Presilly  Landt. 

The  earliest  map  on  which  we  have  seen  the  name  is  that  of 
the  Ptolemy  edition  of  1508,  where  "  R.  de  Brasil "  designates 
a  river  flowing  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  not  far  south  of  "  Cap. 
Ste.  Crucis."  According  to  Kohl  the  earliest  date  at  which  it 
can  be  definitely  stated  that  the  name  was  usual,  is  1511,  from 
which  time  the  name  given  this  region  by  Cabral,  Land  of  the 
Holy  or  True  Cross,  gradually  became  obsolete.  On  the 
Ptolemy  map  of  1513  the  name  occurs  twice,  but  with  difler- 

^  J.  G.  Kohl,  Die  beiden  altesten  General-Karten  von  Amerika,  p.  145. 


80  Ameiica:   Its  Geographical  History, 

ent  spelling.  At  23  degrees  of  south  latitude,  the  '^  rio  de 
brazil  ^^  flows  into  *^  porto  seguro ;  ^'  and  not  far  east  of  the 
Gulf  of  Darien,  there  is  found  an  "y.  do  brassil."  Reisch, 
in  1515,  extends  the  name  to  the  whole  continent  of  South 
America,  which  he  entitles  '^  Paria  sen  Prisilia.'^  The  Frank- 
fort globe,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  made  sometime 
within  the  five  years  following,  transfers  the  name  to  a 
large  Antarctic  continent,  and  calls  it  "  Brasilia  Regio  ; '' 
while  the  Schoener  globe  varies  this  again  by  calling  the 
Antarctic  continent  '^  Brasilia  inferior,"  and  placing  a  ''  Rio 
de  Brasil "  far  in  the  south,  emptying  into  the  Atlantic  at  a 
point  south  of  a  great  stream  which  is  evidently  the  Plata,  but 
which  he  calls  ^'  Rio  de  Mezo.'^  As  in  other  respects  we  have 
found  the  annoy mous  official  map  of  1527  so  good,  so  in  this 
case,  it  confines  itself  to  the  known,  and  entitles  the  north- 
eastern portion  of  the  South  American  continent  '^  El  Brasil." 
So  also  on  that  of  Ribero,  two  years  later,  the  name  is  found 
in  the  right  place,  although  somewhat  lengthened,  in  the  form 
"Tierra  del  Brasil."  But  the  name  had  not  yet  become 
constant,  for  on  the  very  next  map,  that  of  the  British 
Museum,  of  about  1530,  there  is  no  name  for  the  district 
now  known  as  Brazil,  but  a  river  of  30  degrees  south 
bears  the  name  "  brasilia."  Grynaeus,  on  his  map  of 
1631,  draws  a  large  Antarctic  continent,  and  places  on  it  the 
legend  ^'  Terra  Australis  recenter  inventeTj  sed  non  diem  plene 
cognita,'^  and  gives  this  southern  land  the  name  of  ^'  Brasielia 
RegiOe"  The  Venitian  map  of  1534  has  '  Brasil '  in  the  right 
place,  while  the  one  next  in  chronological  order,  the  Agnese 
map  of  1536  gives  us  "brazill"  out  in  the  ocean,  south  of 
"  pernambucho."  Of  even  date  is  probably  the  Oxford  map, 
which  designates  apparently  the  whole  of  the  southern  part  of 
South  America  by  the  name  "  Brazili,"  extending  on  both 
sides  of  the  "rio  de  la  platta;"  and  in  the  interior  of  the 
northern  portion  of  the  continent  is  the  name  "  brazile ; "  but 
as  to  what  the  latter  applies,  can  only  be  matter  of  supposition. 
Three  times  is  the  name  repeated  on  the  Lyons  edition  of 


Histmical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names.       81 

Ptolemy  of  1541 ;  once  in  connection  with  two  small  islands 
not  far  west  of  "Anglia  ^'  (England),  where  the  name  is  spelled 
"  brazil ;  '^  again,  designating  a  small  river  of  north-eastern 
South  America,  with  the  same  spelling ;  and  finally,  not  far 
from  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  where  is  located  "  Insula  do 
brassil."  Homem's  map  of  the  world,  which  dates  from  the 
same  decade,  shows  a  country  correctly  situated,  with  the  name 
"  Brazil,"  and  on  the  coast,  at  about  fifteen  degrees  south,  is  a 
town  of  ^'  brazill."  The  Nancy  globe,  of  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  calls  the  southern  part  of  the  continent 
"Bresilia  Regio,"  and  the  territory  usually  known  by  that 
name,  receives  here  the  appellation  "  Papagalli  tefa."  On  the 
Bellero  map  of  1554, "  Bresilia"  is  confined  to  a  comparatively 
small  district  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  continent,  by  the 
undue  extension  of  "  Andaluzia  nova,'^  and  the  province  con- 
tains a  ^  R.  del  brasil ; '  but  a  more  considerable  peculiarity  is 
presented  by  the  famous  Ramusio  map  of  1556  on  which  the 
name  "  Brasil  "  is  duplicated ;  once  for  the  whole  eastern  part 
of  South  America,  its  western  border  being  the  "  Rio  Mara- 
gnon,"  which  flows  from  *^ Chili"  due  north,  thus  dividing  the 
continent  into  two  nearly  equal  portions ;  and  Ramusio  calls 
the  whole  southern  continent  of  the  New  World  "  la  partey 
che  si  chiama  la  terra  del  Brasil  &  Peru  "  (the  part  which  is 
called  the  land  of  Brazil  and  Peru).  Not  satisfied  with  this, 
he  gives  us  a  second  "Brasil"  as  a  small  island  between 
"  Irlanda  "  and  the  Isle  of  "  Man"  !  Two  maps  of  1560  are 
preserved  to  us,  one  by  Dolfinatto,  on  which  "  brasil "  is  a 
little  island  at  about  60  degrees  north,  somewhat  east  of 
"Tiera  de  Bacalos,"  and  the  other  by  Furlani,  on  which  an 
island  bearing  the  same  name  finds  place  near  the  65th  parallel, 
close  to  "  Tierra  de  Laborador."  Still  another  place  was  found 
for  this  poor  wandering  child  of  fancy,  by  Zaltieri,  (1566)  who 
designates  a  diminutive  island  southeast  of  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  by  that  name.  Ortelius  (1570)  has  the  *R.  de 
Brasil,"  so  often  encountered  on  the  eastern  coast,  near  the 
twentieth  parallel,  south,  and  says  also,  apparently  in  reference 
6 


82  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

to  the  country :  ^^ Brasilia  a  Lusitanis  A°.  1504  inventa.^' 
Lok's  map  in  the  Haklayt  edition  of  1582  has  "  Brasil  "  as  a 
small  island  on  the  first  meridian,  which  is  probably  that  of 
the  Cape  Verde  Islands.  The  island  is  about  50  degrees  north, 
and  somewhat  southwest  of  "  Hibernia ;  '^  in  the  edition  of 
1589  the  island  is  about  the  same,  while  the  continental  terri- 
tory, generally  known  under  that  name,  is  curiously  called 
"  Humos  Brasi."  The  Judaeus  map  of  the  same  year  places 
near  together  "  Brasil ''  and  "  S.  Branda,"  another  mythical 
island  that  remained  on  the  maps  till  a  comparatively  late 
period,  and  both  somewhat  east  of  "  Nova  Fraucia."  Then 
we  have  four  maps  which  approach  the  normal  much  more 
nearly,  as  they  all  bear  "  Brasilia ''  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  South  America,  with  greater  or  less  extent.  These  are  the 
maps  of  Myrtius  of  1587,  of  Hondius  of  1589,  of  Plancius, 
1594,  and  of  Hakluyt^s  edition  of  1598.  To  these  may  be 
added  also  the  work  of  Martines  of  Messina,  of  1578,  with 
the  abridged  form  of  the  name  ^brasil.'  However,  in  1598 
appeared  the  so-called  map  of  Porro,  whereon  "  Brasil  '^  again 
indicates  mythical  islands,  situated  not  far  from  and  to  the 
southwest  of  "  Hibernia."  Thus  ends  the  sixteenth  century  ; 
and  with  the  opening  of  the  seventeenth,  the  name  is  firmly 
fixed  as  the  designation  of  the  northeastern  part  of  South 
America.  The  boundaries  of  the  country  so  known  were  how- 
ever still  undefined,  and  in  fact  remained  so  when,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  present  century,  universal  revolutions  shook  the 
whole  continent,  and  resulted  in  all  but  a  diminutive  portion 
of  it  being  declared  free  from  the  further  rule  of  Europe ;  and 
the  people  themselves  were  called  upon  to  settle  their  mutual 
borders.  One  thing  however  is  worthy  of  remark,  namely 
that  the  method  of  spelling  the  name  which  remained  the 
favorite  one  throughout  the  sixteenth  century,  that  is  with 
an  s,  has  now  generally  given  way  to  the  modern  form 
with  2. 


Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names.       83 

Canada. 

The  history  of  this  geographical  name  is  another  illustra- 
tion of  the  growth  of  the  local  to  the  general ;  for,  going  back 
to  the  time  of  Cartier,  in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, we  find  it  applied  to  a  hamlet  on  or  near  the  banks  of 
the  St.  Lawrence.  Whether  the  term  was  generic  in  its  appli- 
cation to  any  small  collection  of  houses  is  not  clear  to  ray 
mind ;  for  though  we  have  a  statement  to  that  effect,  by  one 
author,  it  is  denied  by  another,  who  applies  it  to  a  fixed  dis- 
trict; and  the  maps  may  be  interpreted  in  accordance  with 
either  theory.  As  we  shall  see,  a  special  town  of  that  name 
is  put  down  on  quite  a  number  of  maps  in  very  much  the 
same  place,  and  on  other  maps  the  name  is  evidently  applied  to 
a  district  of  greater  or  less  area.  Regarding  the  ultimate  origin 
of  the  name,  there  is  some  room  for  doubt ;  for  though  the 
early  explorers  evidently  took  it  for  an  indigenous  word, 
modern  philological  investigation  points  to  another  conclusion. 
Professor  A.  M.  Elliott,  after  examining  the  word  with  refer- 
ence to  other  Indian  words  of  this  section  says  :  ^ — "  Accord- 
ing to  mere  form  then,  irrespective  of  the  positive  and  forcible 
considerations  that  tend  to  fix  a  totally  different  etymon  for 
the  geographical  term  Canada,  we  may  eliminate  the  present 
favorite  Indian  etymology  from  our  discussion."  Turning, 
then,  to  the  European  languages,  he  finds  the  word  in  use  as  a 
common  noun  in  both  Spanish  and  Portuguese;  and  either 
alone  or  in  combination,  often  employed  in  the  designation  of 
topographical  sites.  Seeking  analogies  in  the  use  of  the  words 
Florida  and  Barbada  as  adjectives  limiting  terra,  he  would 
interpret  Canada  in  the  same  manner.  "  The  origin  of  the 
root  can  is,  of  course,  the  Latin  canna  a  reed,  which  gives 
regularly  in  Spanish  Cafi-ada,  the  common  term  for  "  glade." 
In  modern  Portuguese,  can-ada  denotes  1,  a  measure  for 
liquids,  of  little  more  than  a  liter  ;  2,  a  path."    The  Spanish 

^ "  Origin  of  the  word  '  Canada/  "  Modern  Language  Notes,  1888,  iii,  No.  6. 


84  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

pronunciation,  however,  is  Caiidda,  which  must  be  changed 
in  order  to  adapt  it  to  the  laws  of  English  pronunciation, 
"  In  form,  then,  Canada  follows  the  Portuguese  rule ;  in 
signification,  the  Spanish  derivative  from  the  Latin  canna/^ 
"  But  it  is  probable  that  we  have  here  a  simple  non-palatalized 
product  for  Latin  nn  such  as  belonged  to  the  older  period  of 
the  Spanish  language/'  The  name  is  found  more  than  fifty- 
times  in  Spain  to-day,  and  survives  in  the  Argentine  Eepublic, 
for  the  designation  of  low  districts  not  unlike  those  on  the  St. 
Lawrence.  The  name  occurs  too  in  France  as  a  geographical 
term ;  and  our  author  is  of  the  opinion  that  if  the  history  of 
any  one  of  the  seven  French  places  bearing  it,  can  be  traced 
back  to  a  time  preceding  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, that  that  would  be  proof  conclusive  of  the  European 
origin  of  the  word.  Cartier's  "  JRecit "  has  been  carefully  read 
to  arrive  at  the  meaning  he  himself  attached  to  the  word,  and 
Professor  Elliott  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  "  There  cannot 
be  the  slightest  doubt  after  these  divers  statements,  intended 
to  represent  so  varied  events,  and  widely  separated,  too,  in 
point  of  time,  that  the  only  use  to  which  the  name  was  then 
applied,  was  simply  to  indicate  a  limited  district  of  country 
lying  along  the  north  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence  between  the 
Saguenay  and  Quebec."  "  The  fact,  then,  I  hold  to  be  incon- 
testable that  Caktier  found  the  name  Canada  already  in  ex- 
istence as  applied  to  a  single  province  when  he  arrived  at 
Stadacona  (Quebec)  in  the  month  of  September  1535."  Far 
be  it  from  us  to  dispute  Professor  Elliott's  philology  ;  but  he 
stops  short  of  satisfying  our  curiosity,  by  not  explaining  how 
a  Spanish  word  came  to  be  in  common  use  among  a  tribe  of 
savages  who  had  seen  practically  nothing  of  the  Spaniards. 
The  Spaniards  were  theoretically  acquainted  with  the  Canadian 
coast  from  an  early  period,  as  we  see  by  the  official  maps 
of  1527  and  1529;  but  that  they  were  at  all  familiar  with 
the  interior  of  the  country,  along  the  banks  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, we  have  seen  no  proof;  and  would  be  disposed  to  doubt 
it  until  shown  good  reason  to  the  contrary.     That  they  ever 


Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names.       85 

remained  here  long  enough  to  make  an  impression  on  the  In- 
dian mind,  is  still  more  questionable.  Furthermore,  when  it 
is  considered  how  difficult  it  is  to  root  out  an  old  geographical 
name  and  substitute  a  new  one,  especially  among  people  of 
low  intelligence,  and  little  accustomed  to  change,  it  seems  to 
us  very  improbable  that  a  visit  or  two  from  Spanish  naviga- 
tors, even  if  they  ever  penetrated  so  far  up  the  St.  Lawrence, 
would  be  sufficient  to  revolutionize  the  native  name  of  a  dis- 
trict. Mr.  Marcou^s  theory  as  to  the  derivation  of  the  name 
America  from  the  fact  of  Columbus  and  his  followers  having 
heard  the  word  Americ  from  the  lips  of  the  savages  as  the  desig- 
nation of  the  source  of  their  gold  supplies,  is  called  "  foolish  '' 
by  Mr.  H.  H.  Bancroft ;  yet  we  have  frequent  analogy  of  the 
adoption  of  the  Indian  name  by  explorers ;  can  Mr.  Elliott 
show  us  any  analogous  adoptions  by  the  American  Indians  of 
European  words  as  the  names  of  their  territories  ?  If  so,  we 
might  see  more  probability  in  his  etymology.  Moreover,  if 
the  Spaniards  had  used  this  term  to  designate  the  country  on 
the  St.  Lawrence,  would  we  not  find  it  on  at  least  one  or  the 
other  of  their  early  maps  ?  So  far  as  my  investigations  go, 
I  have  failed  to  find  it  there. 

The  earliest  map  on  which  I  have  noticed  the  name  Canada 
is  that  of  Yallard,  No.  156  of  the  Kohl  Collection.  It  is 
there  used  to  designate  a  small  district  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  between  an  unnamed  island  (Orleans  ?)  and 
a  lake  to  the  west  which  is  called  simply  "  le  lac.''  On  an 
anonymous  map,  which  Kohl  supposes  to  be  from  the  year 
1548  or  thereabouts,  the  name  Canada  occurs  three  times; 
namely,  once  in  large  letters,  between  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  "  Mer  de  France  ; "  again  it  is  seen  in  small  letters  east 
of  the  "  R.  du  Sagnay,"  and  north  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River ; 
and  a  third  time  it  finds  a  place  southwest  of  the  given  portion 
of  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  Another  anonymous  French  map 
of  probably  a  few  years  later,  gives  apparently  the  name  of  the 
whole  country  as  CANADA,  in  large  capitals ;  then  the  accus- 
tomed district  in  small  capitals ;  and  lastly,  an  affluent  of  the 


S6  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

St.  Lawrence,  coming  from  the  north,  bears  the  same  name. 
Diego  Homem,  on  his  map  of  1558,  uses  the  name  for  an 
island  situated  between  a  great  river,  evidently  the  St.  Law- 
rence, on  the  south,  and  "  Mare  leparaniatiil "  on  the  north. 
On  a  map  of  1556  by  Sanson  d' Abbeville,  "  Le  Canada  "  is  the 
designation  of  a  large  territory,  extending  from  a  line  south  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  the  mountains  of"  Virginie  ^'  to  a 
line  in  the  north,  separating  it  from  "  Estotilande  ou  Terre  de 
Labrador  "  and  "  Nouvelle  Bretagne."  This  map  introduces 
us  also  to  an  appellation  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River  which 
held  ground  for  a  time  but  apparently  never  became  popular : 
'^  La  Gr.  Riv.  de  Canada  ou  de  St.  Laurens.^'  This  magnifi- 
cent stream  remained  for  a  long  time  without  any  fixed  name : 
here  we  see  the  transition  stage,  giving  a  choice  of  names ;  but 
in  the  end  the  saint's  name  crowded  out  the  native  one, 
probably  because  the  latter  would  ever  have  necessitated  the 
joining  of  some  explicative  adjective  with  it,  as  in  this  case 
"  Grande."  A  map  of  this  region  by  Guitierrez,  of  the  year 
1562  contains  "Canada  Prov."  north  of  "Tierre  Francisca^' 
and  of  "Tierra  di  Norimberga."  Ortelius  (1570)  calls  the 
whole  district  west  of  the  "Saguenai  fl."  by  the  name 
CANADA,  and  names  a  town  in  the  southern  part  of  the  pro- 
vince, and  near  the  St.  Lawrence  River  "Canado."  On 
The  vet's  map,  extracted  from  the  work  "  La  France  Antarc- 
tic,'' "  Canade "  is  a  town  situated  on  a  small  river  entering 
the  St.  Lawrence  from  the  north.  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert 
had  still  another  idea  of  the  application  of  this  name ;  for  on 
the  map  in  his  "  Discourse,"  "  Canada  "  is  a  large  island  east 
of"  La  nuova  Franza."  Martines'  map  in  the  British  Museum 
places  the  province  of  "  Canada  "  west  of  "  Baccilaos."  On 
Hakluyt's  map  contained  in  the  edition  of  1 589,  "'  Canada  " 
is  a  town  of  "  Nova  Francia."  Frobisher  makes  of  Canada 
a  peninsula,  occupying  the  northeastern  portion  of  North 
America  between  "  bacalaos  "  and  "  Hispania  nova."  In  the 
title  of  his  map  of  1593,  Judaeus  mentions  Canada  as  one  of 
the  principal  divisions  of  North  America,  and  twice  in  notes 


Historical  Notes  on  Certain  Geographical  Names.      87 

speaks  of  the  natives  under  the  name  "  Canadenses."  One  of 
these  legends  is  at  seventy  degrees  of  north  latitude,  and 
reads :  "  Hoc  mare  dulcium  aquarum  est,  cujus  terminus  ignorari 
Canadenses  aijuntj'  The  other  is  in  southwestern  California, 
and  reads  as  follows :  "  Qui  inter  Florida  et  Baccalaos  habi- 
tanty  hi  omnes  uno  nomine  Canadenses  appellantur  Hochelaga, 
Hongueda  CorterealisJ'  Furthermore  the  name  Canada  stands 
on  the  map  for  the  region  bounded  by  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
the  "  Saguenai,"  Hochelaga  and  Hongueda.  Whytfliet's  map 
of  the  country,  issued  in  1597  is  entitled  ^' Nova  Francia  et 
Canada,"  and  Canada  in  capital  letters  is  placed  in  the  north, 
and  again  in  small  letters  is  used  to  designate  a  town  on  a 
branch  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  not  far  from  the  main  stream. 
Lescarbot^s  map  of  1609  multiplies  the  name  in  a  manner  to 
indicate  his  fondness  for  it.  Thus  we  have  the  "  Golfe  de 
Canada,"  "  La  grande  R.  de  Canada,"  besides  two  districts 
bearing  the  name ;  one  immediately  south  of  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  River,  and  the  other  west  of  the  "R.  de 
Saguenay."  If  this  map  were  seventy-five  or  one  hundred 
years  older  than  it  is,  we  should  feel  inclined  to  accept  Pro- 
fessor Elliott's  interpretation  of  the  origin  of  the  name :  for 
it  looks  very  much  like  a  generic  term  applied  to  various 
localities  which  it  describes,  without  taking  the  trouble  to 
specify  more  exactly  by  the  use  of  individual  proper  names. 
On  No.  167  of  KohPs  Collection,  which  he  gives  as  a  copy  of 
Purchas'  map  of  1625,  '^New  France"  is  the  name  of  the 
great  stretch  of  country  north  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  while  the 
Gulf  and  River  of  St.  Lawrence  are  named  respectively 
"  Golfe  of  Canada  "  and  "  The  great  riuer  of  Canada."  De 
Laet's  map  of  1630  gives  "La  Grand  Riviere  de  Canada" 
but  calls  the  gulf  "S.  Laurens."  A  district  north  of  the 
"  Baye  de  Chaleur  "  bears  the  legend  "  Canadiens."  We  have 
thus  examined  the  maps  of  a  century  following  the  first  intro- 
duction of  the  geographical  name  Canada,  as  far  as  we  have 
been  able  to  find  them.  The  name  was  by  no  means  univer- 
sally adopted  in  the  earlier  days ;  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the 


88  America:  Its  Geographical  History, 

majority  of  maps  of  this  period  which  have  come  under  our 
notice  employ  the  French  official  name  for  the  country,  that 
is  New  France.  The  shorter  and  more  easily  pronounced 
word  crowded  out  of  use  the  longer  name ;  and  survived  even 
the  British  conquest,  which  the  name  New  France  could 
scarcely  have  done.  What  will  be  the  result  if  Canada  is 
ever  incorporated  in  the  United  States,  we  leave  for  the  future 
to  decide. 


V. 

Development  of  American  National  and  State 
boundaeies. 

Before  the  era  of  Columbus  the  vast  space  between  Europe 
on  the  east  and  Asia  on  the  west,  was  practically  a  blank  in 
the  consciousness  of  the  civilized  world.  From  his  voyage 
in  1492  may  be  reckoned  the  birth  of  the  western  continent ; 
which,  in  the  subsequent  period  of  exploration,  gradually  rose 
as  it  were  piece  by  piece  out  of  the  ocean,  and  assumed  visible 
form  and  shape  to  the  eye  of  observing  Europe.  But  long 
before  the  whole  was  known,  the  secondary  development 
began,  with  the  acquisition  of  more  detailed  knowledge  of 
the  immediate  surroundings  of  the  several  colonies.  As  in 
organic  bodies,  the  internal  development  continues  after  the 
outer  form  is  fixed,  so  with  our  geographical  development, 
the  internal  organs  of  states  and  countries  have  been  slowly 
developing  toward  fixity  after  the  outer  form  had  been  defi- 
nitely settled.  At  the  same  time,  the  claims  of  jurisdiction 
have  gone  through  numerous  changes,  the  principal  being  the 
gradual  narrowing  of  pretensions  to  universal  dominion  over 
newly  discovered  territory,  to  a  claim  of  that  district  actually 
in  possession.  The  first  charter  of  Columbus  conferred  on 
him  the  admiralty  of  such  "  Islands  and  Continent  '^  as  he 
might  discover.^  On  his  return,  Spain,  wishing  to  obtain  the 
monopoly  of  all  lands  that  might  be  discovered  in  that  direc- 
tion, applied  to  the  pope  for  a  confirmation  of  her  title.    This 

^  Charters  and  Constitutions,  compiled  by  Ben.  Parley  Poore,  I,  304. 

89 


90  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

resulted  in  the  famous  bulls  of  Pope  Alexander  YI,  by  which 
all  non-Christian  unknown  lands  of  the  earth  were  divided 
between  Spain  and  Portugal,  by  a  line  extending  north  and 
south,  from  pole  to  pole,  and  passing  one  hundred  leagues 
west  of  the  Azores  and  Cape  Verde  Islands.  Portugal  pro- 
tested so  strongly  against  this  arrangement  that  she  forced 
Spain  to  a  treaty  by  which  that  line  was  moved  two  hundred 
and  seventy  leagues  toward  the  west.  Resting  on  this  grant 
of  the  pope,  Spain  claimed  universal  jurisdiction  in  the  New 
World,  with  the  exception  of  a  portion  of  South  America, 
which,  by  the  above  mentioned  treaty  of  Tordesillas,  fell  to 
the  Portuguese.  The  other  marine  powers  were  unwilling 
that  Spain  should  monopolize  the  vast  unknown  possibilities 
of  the  New  World,  and  followed  in  her  footsteps  in  sending 
out  exploring  expeditions.  Later  came  the  period  of  settle- 
ment, which,  with  the  English,  and  therefore  the  most  im- 
portant for  the  history  of  the  United  States,  may  be  considered 
to  have  commenced  with  Raleigh's  charter  of  March  25, 1584, 
by  which  he  received  from  the  English  crown,  for  himself,  his 
heirs  and  assigns,  "  free  libertie  and  licence  from  time  to  time, 
and  at  all  times  for  euer  hereafter,  to  discouer,  search,  finde 
out,  and  view  such  remote,  heathen  and  barbarous  lands, 
countreis,  and  territories  not  actually  possessed  of  any  Chris- 
tian Prince,  nor  inhabited  by  Christian  People,  as  to  him,  his 
heirs  and  assigns,  and  to  euery  or  any  of  them  shall  seeme 
good."  He  was  to  have  the  fee-simple  of  all  lands  discovered, 
and  the  rights  of  government  over  all  "that  shall  abide 
within  200.  leagues  of  any  of  the  saide  place  or  places,  where 
the  said  Walter  Ralegh  .  .  .  shall  inhabite  within  6.  yeeres 
next  ensuing  the  date  hereof." 

In  the  grant  of  1606  to  the  Virginia  Company,  the  more 
definite  limits  of  from  thirty-four  to  forty-five  degrees  of 
north  latitude  in  America  were  assigned.  Later  by  the 
charter  of  Carolina,  issued  in  1665,  territory  so  far  south  as 
the  twenty-ninth  degree  of  north  latitude  was  granted,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  the  Spaniards  had  first  explored  this 


American  National  and  State  Boundaries.  91 

region,  and  that  a  Spanish  colony  of  nearly  or  quite  a  century's 
existence  was  within  the  territory  now  granted.  Under  such 
circumstances  conflicts  were  sure  to  arise.  France  had  also 
some  show  of  claim  to  this  territory  on  account  of  her  early 
settlement  at  Port  Royal.  But  she  preferred  in  the  end,  to 
apply  her  energies  further  north,  where  her  claims  came  in 
conflict  with  those  of  England.  The  Dutch,  who  were  enter- 
prising mariners  also,  did  not  fail  to  set  up  a  claim  to  a  por- 
tion of  the  New  World,  both  on  the  ground  of  discovery  and 
of  first  settlement ;  and  even  the  Swedes,  in  their  period  of 
prosperity,  essayed  to  establish  by  colonization  a  claim  to  terri- 
tory on  this  side  the  Atlantic.  How  were  all  these  conflict- 
ing interests  to  be  reconciled  ?  It  was  a  new  experiment  in 
the  world's  history ;  and  only  time  could  solve  the  difficult 
problem  here  presented.  Portugal's  right  to  unexplored 
lands,  granted  by  a  bull  of  Pope  Eugene  TV.  had  been 
acquiesced  in  by  other  nations,^  probably  because  the  prize  did 
not  seem  worth  contending  for.  But  the  hope  of  finding  gold 
in  America,  combined  with  the  change  of  ideas  wrought  by 
the  Reformation,  presented  too  strong  a  temptation  for  the 
nations  of  western  Europe  to  resist.  International  law,  itself 
then  a  new  science,  was  not  of  sufficient  influence  to  enforce  a 
policy  according  to  its  principles.  Abstract  ideas  of  justice 
seldom  if  ever  prevail  in  such  cases,  where  self-interest  gets 
the  upper  hand.  Hence  we  find  that  the  old  rule  of  might 
makes  right  was  the  guiding  principle  by  which  America 
became  divided  among  its  present  owners. 

The  ease  with  which  these  vast  stretches  of  land  were  given 
away  on  paper,  led  to  a  lavishness  and  carelessness  in  their 
disposal,  even  among  the  subjects  of  the  same  power,  which 
finally  produced  endless  trouble.  We  have  seen  the  extensive 
and  indefinite  nature  of  Raleigh's  grant.  Under  it  no  perma- 
nent settlement  was  formed.  Then  came  the  grant  of  1606, 
dividing  the  whole  territory  from  34°  to  45°  north  latitude 

'  W.  Robertson,  Hist,  of  America.     3  vols.     Basil,  1790,  v.  I,  p.  58. 


92  America:   Its  Geographical  History, 

between  two  branches  of  the  same  company,  but  leaving  the 
district  between  the  38th  and  41st  degrees  open  to  both  ;  for- 
bidding, however,  each  to  found  a  settlement  within  one  hun- 
dred miles  of  the  other.  In  1609  there  was  granted  to  the 
London  Company  the  territory  extending  200  miles  north  and 
200  miles  south  of  Point  Comfort,  with  the  islands  within 
100  miles  of  the  coast,  while  the  grant  of  the  mainland  was 
to  extend  "  from  the  Sea  Coast  of  the  Precinct  aforesaid,  up 
into  the  Land  throughout  from  Sea  to  Sea,  West  and  North- 
west." A  glance  at  the  map  shows  that  this  grant  includes 
the  coast-line  of  a  part  of  New  Jersey,  all  of  Delaware,  Mary- 
land and  North  Carolina,  to  say  nothing  of  the  vast  interior 
stretching  to  the  Pacific.  The  present  State  of  Virginia  is, 
in  extent  of  territory,  the  mere  shadow  of  the  magnificent 
domain  granted  under  that  name  in  1609.  The  first  im- 
portant reduction  came  through  the  grant  of  Maryland  in 
1632.  The  Virginians  protested  against  this  cutting  off 
"  nere  two-third  parts  of  the  better  territory  of  Virginia," 
but  without  effect.  The  same  rule  of  the  right  of  might  held 
good  here,  as  it  did  between  the  different  nations ;  the  Vir- 
ginia Company  had  been  deprived  of  their  governmental 
powers,  though  their  property  rights  were  guaranteed  them. 
Lord  Baltimore  was  the  stronger  at  court  and  retained  what 
had  been  granted  him.  Carolina  was  later  cut  off  from  the 
other  side ;  and  so  the  mutilation  continued. 

The  case  was  similar  in  the  north.  To  the  "second  Col- 
lony"  was  granted  in  1620  the  region  between  the  fortieth 
and  forty-eighth  parallels  of  latitude,  and  extending  to  the 
Pacific.  Out  of  this  tract  were  afterward  carved,  by  the  gov- 
ernment and  by  the  company,  so  many  grants  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  bring  order  out  of  the  resulting  chaos. 

What  then  were  the  causes  that  led  to  this  confusion, 
sowed  the  seeds  of  discord  among  the  colonists  themselves  and 
also  among  the  respective  European  countries?  First  and 
foremost  were  the  extravagant  pretensions  of  the  different 
courts  in  claiming  immense  regions  of  which  they  were  not 


American  National  and  State  Boundaries.  93 

able  to  take  possession.  In  this  respect  England  took  the 
lead  ;  for  though  her  charters  almost  invariably  granted  only 
such  lands  as  were  not  already  owned  or  occupied  by  any 
Christian  prince  or  People,  she  herself  and  her  colonists  gave 
practically  no  heed  to  this  clause,  and ,  in  several  instances 
drove  out  or  subdued  others,  who  by  every  principle  of  jus- 
tice were  better  entitled  to  the  soil  than  their  conquerors.  A 
second  reason  was  the  carelessness  with  which  grants  were 
made ;  the  king,  though  he  never  dies,  seeming  to  have  had  a 
very  poor  memory  as  to  past  actions,  as  soon  as  he  wished,  in 
an  easy  and  cheap  manner,  to  reward  a  new  favorite.  But 
the  trouble  was  brought  about  as  much  by  ignorance  as  by 
carelessness ; — reliance  on  the  descriptions  of  travelers,  and  on 
crude  and  imperfect  maps,  being  a  very  potent  cause.  The 
art  of  map-making  was  not  yet  well  developed.  Further- 
more the  astronomers  had  not  then  succeeded  in  determining 
accurately  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  even  the  main  cities 
of  Europe ;  while  the  instruments  for  observations  at  sea  were 
still  more  crude  and  inaccurate  than  those  employed  on  land. 
Measurements  of  portions  of  the  earth  had  indeed  been 
essayed,  to  establish  the  length  of  a  degree  of  latitude ;  but 
it  was  after  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  [1669]  be- 
fore an  approach  to  accurateness  was  reached  in  France ;  and 
so  slow  was  the  spread  of  scientific  knowledge  in  those  times, 
that  it  took  ten  years  for  the  knowledge  of  the  French  meas- 
urements to  find  its  way  to  the  Royal  Society  of  London. 
The  early  English  settlements  to  the  south  of  the  40th 
parallel  were  so  far  from  the  Spaniards  that  the  latter,  though 
theoretically  claiming  the  entire  continent,  did  not  attempt  to 
disturb  them.  It  was  otherwise  however  with  the  northern 
colonies.  France  and  England  were  both  deeply  interested  in 
the  fisheries,  and  both  wished  to  obtain  possession  of  the 
neighboring  lands.  In  the  seventeenth  century  the  principal 
territory  in  dispute  was  the  eastern  coast  of  Maine.  As  early 
as  December  18th,  1603,  King  Henry  IV.  of  France  had 
granted  to  Sieur  de  Monts  the  country  from  the  40th  to  the 


94  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

46th  degree  of  north  latitude.  Id  the  following  year  this  en- 
terprising Frenchman  had  a  settlement  on  what  is  now  the 
coast  of  Nova  Scotia ;  and  with  this  as  a  central  point,  he 
claimed  the  neighboring  territory  according  to  the  terms  of  his 
patent.  The  first  English  patent  covering  this  territory  in 
definite  terms  was  that  of  1606,  which  however  for  this  region 
remained  practically  a  dead  letter  till  after  the  settlement  of 
Plymouth  in  1620.  In  this  year  the  "second  Collony" 
received  the  charter  for  '^  New  England  in  America,"  limited 
on  the  north  by  the  48th  parallel  of  latitude.  Settlements 
increased  rapidly ;  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  representa- 
tives of  the  two  nations  found  their  interests  clashing.  The 
French  finally  narrowed  their  claims  and  expressed  a  willing- 
ness to  consider  Pemaquid  Point,  which  was  about  half  way 
between  the  Penobscot  and  Kennebec  rivers,  as  their  western 
limit.  In  as  much  as  the  French  settlements  were  much  the 
earlier,  this  establishing  a  middle  point  as  mutual  boundary 
was,  in  theory  at  least,  a  cession  on  their  part ;  and  according 
to  modern  ideas  of  international  law,  would  have  been  emi- 
nently just.  But  England,  who  ever  denied  Spain's  right  to 
possession  as  against  herself,  on  the  score  of  mere  discovery, 
was  strenuous  in  asserting  her  own  rights,  which  had  no  better 
basis,  as  against  France.  As  the  English  colonists  were  the 
more  numerous,  they  finally  succeeded  in  obtaining  by  force 
of  arms  that  which  no  modern  court  of  justice  or  international 
tribunal  would  have  awarded  them.  At  the  treaty  of  Utrecht, 
(1713)  France  was  forced  to  cede  to  England  "  Acadia  and 
Nova  Scotia,  with  its  ancient  boundaries."  A  half  century 
passes,  of  bickerings,  mutual  recriminations  and  wars ;  and 
again  France  is  forced  to  acknowledge  herself  conquered,  and 
cedes  to  England  "  Canada  with  all  its  dependencies  also  the 
Island  of  Cape  Breton,  and  all  other  islands  and  coasts  in  the 
gulf  and  river  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  generally  all  that  belongs 
to  the  said  country,  lands,  islands  and  coasts."  At  the  same 
time  England  surrenders  her  claims  to  the  territory  west  to 
the  Pacific  and  accepts  the  Mississippi  as  her  western  border. 


American  National  and  State  Boundaries.  95 

To  the  south  of  the  English  colonies  was  Spanish  Florida, 
under  which  name  the  Spaniards  claimed  an  indefinite  extent 
of  territory  northwards.  However,  the  English  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  claim  this  country  also,  and  grant  charters  for  the  same. 
Although  the  actual  settlements  of  South  Carolina  did  not 
extend  to  an  uncomfortable  proximity  to  the  Spaniards,  con- 
stant unrest  and  occasional  war  between  the  representatives  of 
the  two  nations,  disturbed  both  colonies.  In  1732  Georgia 
was  chartered,  with  southern  limits  bounded  by  the  Altamaha 
River.  War  again  broke  out,  with  varying  fortunes  for  the 
contestants.  But  as  the  English  succeeded  in  maintaining 
their  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Mary's,  that  river,  instead 
of  the  Altamaha,  ultimately  became  the  southern  boundary  of 
Georgia.  By  the  treaty  of  Paris  [1763],  Spain  ceded  Florida 
to  England  in  exchange  for  Cuba;  and  France  ceded  to 
Spain  by  a  separate  treaty,  Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
together  with  the  island  of  New  Orleans. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  boundaries  when  the  struggle 
broke  out  that  ended  in  the  establishment  of  American  inde- 
pendence. According  to  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace,  signed 
at  Paris  September  3, 1783,  between  England  and  the  United 
States,  the  boundaries  of  the  latter  were  fixed  as  follows  : — 
*'  From  the  North- West  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  viz.  that  angle 
which  is  formed  by  a  line  drawn  due  north,  from  the  source 
of  Saint-Croix  river  to  the  Highlands  which  divide  those 
rivers  that  empty  themselves  into  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  from 
those  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  to  the  north  western- 
most head  of  Connecticut  river;  thence  down  along  the  mid- 
dle of  that  river  to  the  forty-fifth  degree  of  north-latitude ; 
from  thence  by  a  line  due  west  on  said  latitude  until  it  strikes 
the  river  Iroquois  or  Catarquy  ;  thence  along  the  middle  of 
the  said  river  into  lake  Ontario,  through  the  middle  of  said 
lake,  until  it  strikes  the  communication  by  water  between  that 
lake  and  lake  Erie  ;  thence  along  the  middle  of  said  commu- 
nication into  lake  Erie  through  the  middle  of  said  lake  until 
it  arrives  at  the  water  communication  between  that  lake  and 


96  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

lake  Huron  ;  thence  along  the  middle  of  said  water  communi- 
cation into  the  lake  Huron;  thence  through  the  middle  of 
said  lake  to  the  water  communication  between  that  lake  and 
lake  Superior;  thence  through  lake  Superior,  northward  of 
the  isles  Royal  and  Philipeaux,  to  the  Long-Lake  and  the 
water  communication  between  it  and  the  lake  of  the  Woods ; 
thence  through  the  said  lake  to  the  most  north-western  point 
thereof,  and  from  thence  on  a  due  west  course  to  the  river 
Mississippi ;  thence  by  a  line  to  be  drawn  along  the  middle 
of  the  said  river  Mississippi  until  it  shall  intersect  the  north- 
ernmost part  of  the  thirty-first  degree  of  north  latitude; — 
South,  by  a  line  to  be  drawn  due  east  from  the  determination 
of  the  line  last  mentioned,  in  the  latitude  of  thirty-one  degrees 
north  of  the  Equator,  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola 
or  Catahouche;  thence  along  the  middle  thereof  to  its  junc- 
tion with  the  Flint  river ;  thence  straight  to  the  head  of  St. 
Mary's  river,  and  thence  down  along  the  middle  of  St.  Mary's 
river  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean : — East,  by  a  line  to  be  drawn 
along  the  middle  of  the  river  St.  Croix,  from  its  mouth  in  the 
bay  of  Fundy  to  its  source;  and  from  its  source  directly 
north  to  the  aforesaid  Highlands,  which  divide  the  rivers  that 
fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  those  which  fall  into  the 
river  St.  Lawrence ;  comprehending  all  islands  within  twenty 
leagues  of  any  part  of  the  shores  of  the  United  States,  and 
lying  between  lines  to  be  drawn  due  east  from  the  points 
where  the  aforesaid  boundaries  between  Nova  Scotia  on  the 
one  part,  and  East  Florida  on  the  other,  shall  respectively 
touch  the  bay  of  Fundy,  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean ;  excepting 
such  islands  as  now  are,  or  heretofore  have  been,  within  the 
limits  of  the  said  province  of  Nova  Scotia."  ^ 

Spain  returned  the  province  of  Louisiana  to  France  by  the 
treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso,  October  1st,  1800,  "with  the  same 
extent  as  it  now  has  in  the  hands  of  Spain,  and  as  it  had 
when  France  possessed  it,  and  as  it  should  be  according  to  the" 

^  Martens  et  Cussy,  JRecueU  de  traites,  I,  312. 


American  National  and  State  Boundaries.  97 

treaties  subsequently  made  between  Spain  and  other  states." 
By  the  treaty  signed  at  Paris,  April  30th,  1803,  Napoleon 
ceded  to  the  United  States,  in  the  name  of  the  French  Repub- 
lic, Louisiana,  "  forever  and  in  full  sovereignty,  .  .  .  with  all 
its  rights  and  appurtenances,  thus  and  in  the  manner  that  it 
was  acquired  by  the  French  Republic,  in  virtue  of  the  above- 
mentioned  treaty,  concluded  with   His  Catholic  Majesty."  ^ 
The  borders  between  Louisiana  and  the  Spanish  provinces  on 
the  west  and  south   had   never  been  defined.     The  United 
States  having  purchased  the  former,  were  disposed  to  extend 
their  claim  as  far  as  possible.    "  The  French  had  ever  regarded 
the  mouth  of  the  Del  Norte  as  the  western  limit  of  Louisiana 
on   the  Gulf  of  Mexico;    and  the   United  States  naturally 
claimed  to  the  same  point."  ^     But  the  Spaniards  were  not  by 
any  means  disposed  to  cede  so  much  territory ;  and  the  result, 
instead  of  a  war,  as  it  would  have  been  at  an  earlier  period, 
was  a  long  series  of  negotiations,  with  a  peaceable  settlement 
finally  of  the  difficulties.     Spain  claimed,  in  right  of  her  set- 
tlement at  Santa  Fe,  the  territory  to  the  Mississippi ;  and 
furthermore  insisted  that  she  had  ceded  to  France  in  1800  the 
Spanish  not  the  French  territory  of  Louisiana.    As  there  was 
no  pressing  need  of  settlement  and  each  party  refused  to  recede 
from  its  demands,  the  matter  was  allowed  to  rest,  until  the 
circumstances  had  changed  and  each  was  more  disposed  to 
make  concessions  for  the  sake  of  peace.     This  change  was 
brought  about  by  a  dispute  between  the  same  powers  concern- 
ing Florida.     Both  divisions  of  the  latter  province  had  been 
retroceded  by  England  to  Spain  in  1783 ;  the  same  boundaries 
as  are  fixed  by  the  treaty  of  1783  with  England  are  ratified 
by  a  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Spain  in  1795. 
However  in  1810,  the  United  States  seize  the  greater  part  of 
West  Florida,  to  keep  it  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
British,  from  whom  trouble  is  expected,  and  who  are  conse- 
quently not  wanted  as  a  neighbor  on  the  south  as  well  as  on 

1  Ibid.,  II,  283.  2  T.  Twiss,  The  Oregon  Question,  p.  230. 

7 


98  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

the  north.  In  the  later  discussions  as  to  boundaries,  Spain 
waives  "all  demands  on  this  head  ;"  and  after  many  proposi- 
tions and  counter-propositions,  an  arrangement  satisfactory  to 
both  parties  was  finally  reached,  which  was  embodied  in  the 
provisions  of  the  treaty  of  Washington,  February  22d,  1819. 
In  accordance  therewith  Spain  yielded  both  the  Floridas  to 
the  United  States,  while  the  latter  resigned  their  claim  to 
Texas  and  agreed  to  pay  to  their  own  citizens  claims  to  the 
amount  of  $5,000,000  which  the  latter  had  against  Spain. 
Between  Louisiana  and  Mexico,  the  boundaries  were  agreed 
upon  as  follows  : —  '^  The  boundary-line  between  the  two 
countries,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  shall  begin  on  the  Gulph 
of  Mexico,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Sabine,  in  the  sea,  con- 
tinuing north,  along  the  w^estern  bank  of  that  River,  to  the 
32d  degree  of  latitude ;  thence,  by  a  line  due  north,  to  the 
degree  of  latitude  where  it  strikes  the  Rio  Roxo  of  Nachi- 
toches,  or  Red  River ;  then  following  the  course  of  the  Rio 
Roxo  westward,  to  the  degree  of  longitude  100  west  from 
London  and  23  from  Washington ;  then,  crossing  the  said 
Red  River,  and  running  thence,  by  a  line  due  north,  to  the 
river  Arkansas;  thence,  following  the  course  of  the  southern 
bank  of  the  Arkansas,  to  its  source,  in  latitude  42  north ;  and 
thence,  by  that  parallel  of  latitude,  to  the  South  Sea ; "  ^  the 
United  States  to  have  all  the  islands  in  the  rivers ;  but  the 
navigation  to  be  free  to  both  nations.  The  purchase  of 
Louisiana  from  France  gave  to  the  United  States  their  first 
claim  to  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  River ;  and  in  the 
course  of  these  negotiations  with  Spain,  had  appeared  for  the 
first  time,  a  claim  on  their  part  to  the  region  west  to  the 
Pacific.^  It  was  not  long  till  this  claim  assumed  definite  pro- 
portions in  respect  to  lands  farther  north  than  the  boundaries 
now  established  with  Spain ;  and  it  was  to  require  all  the 
learning  and  statesmanship  of  the  young  republic  to  establish 
international  recognition  to  those  claims. 

1  Martens  et  Cussy,  III,  410,  et  seq.  *  Twiss,  p.  238. 


ATneriaan  National  and  State  Boundaries.  99 

As  far  as  Spain  was  concerned,  the  United  States  were  now 
at  liberty  to  lay  claim  to  the  entire  western  part  of  North 
America  north  of  the  forty-second  parallel.  But  therein  they 
came  at  once  in  contact,  if  not  in  conflict,  with  the  claims  of 
other  powers.  Although  Spain  had  at  one  time  claimed 
exclusive  jurisdiction  to  the  entire  western  coast  of  North 
America  as  far  north  as  the  sixtieth  degree,  England  had  not 
only  not  respected  Spain's  assumed  rights,  but  had  finally 
compelled  her,  when  in  difficulty,  to  sign  the  convention  of 
the  Escurial,  October  28, 1790,  by  which  both  parties  "  agreed 
that  their  respective  subjects  shall  not  be  disturbed  or  molested, 
either  in  navigating  or  carrying  on  their  fisheries  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  or  in  the  South  Seas,  or  in  landing  on  the  coasts  of 
those  seas,  in  places  not  already  occupied,  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  their  commerce  with  the  natives  of  the  country, 
or  of  making  settlements  there ;  the  whole  subject,  neverthe- 
less, to  the  restrictions  and  provisions  specified  in  the  three 
following  articles:"^  These  articles  provided  (1)  that  Spain 
should  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  a  territory  of  ten  sea 
leagues  radius  from  any  of  her  existing  settlements ;  (2)  that 
all  settlements  made  since  April,  1789,  or  to  be  made  there- 
after, should  be  free  of  access  to  the  trade  of  both  nations ; 
(3)  that  neither  party  should  thereafter  make  settlements  in 
South  America  at  any  place  south  of  the  existing  Spanish 
settlements.  From  the  time  of  this  treaty,  England  main- 
tained that  she  had  all  the  rights  of  settlement  and  commerce 
in  common  with  Spain,  in  the  region  north  of  the  38th  paral- 
lel, the  position  of  the  most  northerly  of  Spain's  then  existing 
settlements  on  the  Pacific  coast ;  and  she  accordingly  denied 
that  the  United  States,  by  the  treaty  of  1819,  could  have  any 
higher  right  than  Spain  had  had.  But  there  was  still  another 
party  who  claimed  an  interest  in  this  territory.  In  Russia^ 
which  had  at  an  early  period  established  hunting  and  trading 
stations  far  to  the  north-west,  there  was  issued  on  the  16th  of 

^  Ibid.,  113,  ei  seq. 


100  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

September,  182 J,  an  imperial  ukase  asserting  exclusive  juris- 
diction over  "  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  as  far  south  as 
51°  north  lat.,"  and  prohibiting  "all  foreign  vessels  from  ap- 
proaching within  one  hundred  miles  of  the  shore,  under 
penalty  of  confiscation/'  ^  Both  the  United  States  and  Eng- 
land protested  against  this  assumption  of  territorial  jurisdic- 
tion by  Russia;  and,  by  the  conventions  of  1824  and  1825 
respectively,  they  succeeded  in  having  Russia  resign  all  claims 
south  of  54°  40'  north  latitude.  Thus  the  contest  was  nar- 
rowed down  to  the  two  representatives  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race ;  and  long  and  determinedly,  though  without  war,  they 
wrestled  for  the  jurisdiction.  The  apple  of  discord  was  the 
basin  of  the  Columbia  River,  to  which  England  claimed  at 
least  an  equal  right  with  the  United  States ;  and  proposed  to 
have  that  river  as  their  mutual  boundary,  with  the  navigation 
free  to  both ;  but  the  United  States  would  be  satisfied  with 
nothing  less  than  exclusive  possession  of  the  whole. 

The  treaty  of  1783  had  provided  that  the  boundary  between 
the  United  States  and  the  British  posessions  of  the  northwest 
should  be  a  due  west  course  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to 
the  Mississippi.  By  1794  it  had  become  doubtful  if  the 
Mississippi  extended  so  far  north  ;  and  the  treaty  of  Ghent 
(1814)  settled  the  matter  by  fixing  the  forty-ninth  parallel  as 
the  mutual  boundary.  By  the  convention  of  1818  this  boun- 
dary was  extended  to  the  "  Stony  "  (Rocky)  Mountains  ;  and 
the  territory  beyond  was  to  be  open  to  both  parties. 

The  disputed  part  of  the  Pacific  coast  had  been  visited  from 
time  to  time  by  Spanish,  English,  and  Russian  ships ;  but  not 
one  of  them  had  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River, 
before  Captain  Gray,  in  1789,  in  an  American  trading  ship, 
made  his  way  over  the  bar  that  obstructs  the  entrance  and 
sailed  for  some  distance  up  the  stream.  In  1803,  "  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson, then  President  of  the  United  States,  commissioned 
Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke  to  explore  the  River  Missouri  and '' 

1  Ibid.,  254. 


American  National  and  State  Boundanes.  101 

''  its  principal  branches  to  their  sources,  and  then  to  seek  and 
trace  to  its  termination  in  the  Pacific  some  stream,  whether 
the  Columbia,  the  Oregon,  the  Colorado,  or  any  other,  which 
might  offer  the  most  direct  and  practicable  water  communica- 
tion across  the  continent  for  the  purposes  of  commerce."' 
They  found  and  explored  the  Columbia,  from  one  of  its  sources 
to  its  mouth.  Relying  on  these  grounds  of  discovery  and  on 
the  fact  that  an  American  company  made  the  first  settlement 
in  the  district,  the  United  States  laid  claim  to  the  whole  basin 
of  the  Columbia;  and  after  the  treaty  of  1819  with  Spain, 
considered  their  title  as  unimpeachable,  in  as  much  as  Spanish 
mariners  had  been  the  first  to  make  nearer  observations  of  the 
coast.  England  insisted  on  the  right  of  occupation  in  common, 
urging  the  convention  of  1790  with  Spain  as  a  recognition  of 
that  right.  Our  government  first  claimed  to  the  olst  parallel, 
as  lying  within  the  basin  of  the  Columbia ;  but  later  offered  as 
a  compromise,  to  extend  to  the  Pacific  the  already  existing 
boundary-line  which  divided  the  territories  of  the  two  nations, 
as  far  as  the  Rocky  Mountains,  namely,  the  49th  parallel.  For  a 
long  time  England  would  not  listen  to  thisj  always  insisting  that 
the  navigation  of  the  Columbia  was  necessary  to  the  prosperity 
of  her  northwest  territory.  The  matter  was  finally  compro- 
mised and  settled  by  the  Oregon  treaty  of  1846,  by  which  free 
navigation  of  the  river  was  guaranteed  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  and  those  trading  with  it.  The  boundary-line  was 
to  be  the  49th  parallel  to  the  end  of  the  mainland,  thence 
through  the  Georgia  and  Juan  de  Fuca  straits  to  the  Pacific. 
The  discoveries,  explorations,  and  first  settlement  of  the 
Americans  in  this  region,  should  have  given  them  some 
advantage,  on  the  principle  now  recognized  by  the  Powers,  in 
reference  to  Africa ;  but  the  best  ground  for  the  justice  of  this 
method  of  settlement  seems  to  be  the  fact  that  possession  in 
common,  by  two  nations,  of  the  whole  country  from  the  42d 
degree  to  54°  40'  was  not  practicable ;   and  as  neither  had 

1  Ibid.,  14-15. 


102  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

exclusive  rights,  from  discovery  or  settlement  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  but  practically,  if  not  theoretically,  claimed  the  district 
as  an  extension  of  that  already  in  possession,  it  was  the  most 
natural  course  to  extend  to  the  Pacific  the  dividing  line  which 
was  already  in  existence  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

There  was  to  be  still  another  enlargement  of  territory  before 
the  United  States  should  receive  the  form  which  now  appears 
so  symmetrical  and  natural  on  the  map.  By  the  treaty  of 
1819  they  had  surrendered  all  claim  to  the  district  between 
the  boundary  then  fixed — Sabine  and  Arkansas  Rivers — and 
the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte.  However,  this  region  became  peo- 
pled with  a  large  proportion  of  English-speaking  immigrants, 
who  were  discontented  with  the  government  as  a  member  of 
the  Mexican  States,  which  had  been  independent  of  Spain  since 
1821.  They  accordingly  declared  their  independence  from 
Mexico;  and  from  1837  to  1845  remained  an  independent 
republic.  In  the  latter  year  the  country  was  admitted,  at  her 
own  request,  to  the  American  Union  as  one  of  the  states.  The 
dissatisfaction  of  Mexico  at  this  step  led  to  a  war,  the  result 
of  which  was  that  the  United  States  took  not  only  Texas,  but 
the  whole  district  west  to  the  Pacific  and  south  to  the  junction 
of  the  Colorado  and  Gila  rivers.  But  not  yet  was  the  desire 
for  more  satisfied ;  for  it  was  found  that  there  were  lacking 
good  routes  of  communication  between  the  eastern  and  western 
parts  of  the  newly-acquired  territory;  and  hence  our  govern- 
ment had  to  go  again  to  Mexico,  this  time  with  gold  instead 
of  arms  in  her  hand,  and  ask  for  a  strip  south  of  the  Gila 
River,  which  was  bought  for  $10,000,000,  and  is  known  un- 
der the  name  of  the  Gadsden  purchase.^ 

Having  thus  followed  in  short  the  widening  of  the  English 
borders  in  North  America,  till  that  nation  possessed  almost  all 
to  the  east  of  the  Mississippi ;  then  the  establishment  of  an 


*  As  Alaska  is  distant  and  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  United  States,  it 
is  not  deemed  necessary  here  to  enter  into  the  matter  of  the  purchase  in 
1867,  from  Russia,  of  this  tract  of  more  than  500,000  square  miles. 


Ame7'ican  National  and  State  Boundaries.  103 

independent  state  of  the  same  people,  in  the  New  World,  and 
the  enlargement  of  this  state  through  purchase  and  conquest, 
until  it  became  about  three  times  its  original  size,  we  turn  our 
attention  to  the  development  of  the  interior  lines  of  demarca- 
tion. This  is  a  study  of  no  less  importance,  and  in  some  re- 
spects of  greater  interest,  than  the  other.  We  have  already 
seen  how  England  from  the  first  claimed  ownership  of  the 
entire  central  belt  of  the  continent,  and  gave  to  one  company, 
divided  into  two  sections,  the  right  to  take  possession  of,  people, 
and  govern  this  immense  territory.  The  task  proved  too  great 
for  the  company ;  then,  too,  there  were  others  ready  and 
anxious  to  undertake  the  work  of  colonization ;  and  they 
asked  for,  and  received  permission  to  found  colonies  within 
the  bounds  already  prescribed,  but  generally  with  the  condi- 
tion attached  that  lands  so  granted  were  not  already  occupied 
by  Christian  people.  The  first  reduction  of  Virginia's  terri- 
tory was  made  in  favor  of  Lord  Baltimore,  a  court  favorite 
who  had  already  attempted  to  plant  a  colony  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  Newfoundland,  and  failed.  Admiring  the 
country  and  climate  of  Virginia,  he  secured  a  grant  of  the 
territory  north  and  east  of  the  Potomac  River  and  extending 
to  the  40th  parallel  of  north  latitude.  He  dying  before  the 
charter  w^as  sealed,  a  new  instrument  was  drawn  up  in  favor 
of  his  son  Cecil,  second  Lord  Baltimore.  Previous  to  this, 
the  government  of  Virginia  had  been  taken  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  company,  though  the  judgment  on  the  process  of  quo 
warranto  had  never  been  formally  entered  till  Baltimore  ap- 
plied for  the  patent.  Furthermore,  the  possessory  rights  of 
the  company  had  been  frequently  assured  to  them.  The  early 
days  of  the  colony  had  not  been  prosperous  ones  for  its  found- 
ers and  financial  backers.  Now  that  the  colony  was  firmly 
established  and  there  was  a  prospect  of  reaping  rich  returns 
on  the  original  outlay,  the  members  of  the  company  regarded 
this  grant  to  Baltimore  as  a  serious  infringement  on  their 
rights,  and  complained  loudly  thereof.  Those  were  days  of 
despotism;   and    the '  Virginians   spoke   to   deaf  ears.     The 


104  Amencci:   Its  Geographical  History, 

government  received  a  legal  decision  in  its  favor,  Lord  Justice 
Holt  deciding  that  "the  laws  of  England  do  not  extend  to 
Virginia ;  being  a  conquered  country,  their  law  is  what  the 
King  pleases."  ^  So  Lord  Baltimore  retained  his  grant  and 
planted  his  colony.  The  day  was  to  come,  how^ever,  when 
the  tables  would  be  turned  ;  and  his  descendants  would  hear  a 
somewhat  similar  judgment,  but  this  time  against  them  ;  and 
after  long  delay,  they  also  would  have  to  submit. 

In  the  meantime  the  Dutch  had  discovered,  explored,  and 
settled  the  region  along  the  Hudson  river;  and  also  made 
some  attempts  to  settle  the  Delaware  valley,  which,  however, 
were  at  first  unsuccessful.  The  Swedes,  carrying  out  a  cher- 
ished plan  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  made  their  way  to  the  same 
district,  bought  lands  of  the  Indians,  and  commenced  what, 
under  favoring  circumstances,  might  have  grown  to  a  large 
and  flourishing  colony.  However,  they  failed  to  live  in  peace 
with  their  European  neighbors,  and  fell  before  the  greater 
power  of  the  Dutch.  Thus  the  Swedish  colony  became  in- 
corporated in  the  New  Netherlands ;  and  Dutch  settlers  began 
to  people  the  banks  of  the  Delaware.  To  the  east,  the  Dutch 
were  not  so  fortunate.  Though  the  first  English  settlements 
there  were  not  so  old  as  the  Dutch  trading  post  on  the  Hudson, 
still  they  were  more  flourishing  and  grew  very  much  more 
rapidly.  At  first  the  Dutch  were  rather  traders  than  colonists ; 
and  when  they  began  to  realize  the  importance  of  peopling  the 
country  with  an  agricultural  and  industrial  population,  they 
introduced  a  system  akin  to  feudalism  which  was  not  calcu- 
lated to  foster  colonial  growth  of  a  healthy  nature.  The 
Dutch,  having  established  a  post  on  the  Connecticut  River, 
claimed  the  entire  valley.  But  the  English  coming  in  num- 
bers thither,  the  Dutch  were  compelled  to  allow  them  at  first 
equal  privileges  there,  and  at  last  to  yield,  making  a  pro- 
visional treaty  by  which  they  gave  up  all  claims  to  the 
mainland  east  of  a  point  near  the  present  city  of  Green- 

1  Hildreth,  U.  S.  Hist.,  II,  125. 


American  National  and  State  Boundaries.  105 

wich,  retaining  on  the  Connecticut  only  their  fort  of  Good 
Hope. 

Under  the  English  charter  of  1606  there  was  no  colony 
planted  in  the  northern  district  set  off  by  that  document. 
The  Pilgrim  Fathers  had  planned  to  settle  further  south  than 
they  actually  did ;  and  first  obtained  a  patent  for  the  lands 
they  occupied,  after  they  were  settled  in  their  new  homes. 
Though  they  drew  up  a  plan  for  self-government  before  they 
landed,  they  never  succeeded  in  gaining  a  royal  charter  con- 
ferring the  powers  of  government  on  them.  In  fact,  how- 
ever, they  governed  themselves  for  a  long  time,  but  could  not 
prevent  their  territory  finally  (1691)  being  incorporated  with 
Massachusetts. 

On  November  3,  1620,  was  issued  the  charter  for  '*  New 
England  in  America,^^  under  which  name  was  to  be  included 
"  all  that  Circuit,  Continent,  Precincts,  and  Limits  in  America, 
lying  and  being  in  Breadth,  from  Fourty  Degrees  of  North- 
erly Latitude,  from  the  Equinoctiall  Line,  to  Fourty-eight 
Degrees  of  the  said  Northerly  Latitude,  and  in  length  by  all 
the  Breadth  aforesaid  throughout  the  Maine  Land,  from  Sea 
to  Sea/'  This  immense  tract,  like  that  of  Virginia,  was  to  be 
subjected  to  many  future  amputations.  The  Dutch  claimed 
the  territory  from  the  fortieth  to  the  forty-fifth  parallel ;  and 
were  already,  at  the  time  of  the  issuing  of  this  patent,  in 
possession  of  the  Hudson  river  country,  with  a  settlement 
farther  north  than  42°  30'.  To  the  north,  the  French  were 
already  in  possession,  having  for  many  years  before  this  time 
had  a  trading  post  as  far  south  as  about  the  44th  parallel. 
Accordingly,  if  the  English  had  abided  by  the  letter  of  their 
charters,  they  would  not  have  claimed  more  than  the  territory 
between  the  already  existing  Dutch  and  French  settlements, 
or  less  than  one  and  a  half  degrees  of  latitude,  instead  of  eight. 

The  development  of  the  New  England  boundary-lines  is 
difficult  to  follow.  There  were  two  granting  powers,  the 
crown  and  the  Plymouth  Company  ;  and  their  respective 
grants  were  not  always  in  harmony ;  moreover,  the  successive 


106  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

grants  of  each  were  often  inconsistent  with  its  own  earlier 
grants.  The  result  was  confusion  twice  confounded.  To 
examine  all  the  details  of  the  various  grants  would  take  us 
much  beyond  the  limits  of  a  lecture.  We  may  take  as  a  cen- 
tral point  the  grant  of  Massachusetts  Bay ;  as  it  was  not  only 
the  largest  tract  conveyed  to  any  one  party,  but  the  district  so 
ceded  was  soon  to  become  the  main  colony  of  New  England. 
On  the  19th  of  March,  1628,  the  Plymouth  Company  con- 
veyed to  John  Humphrey  and  others  the  domain  ;  and  on  the 
4th  of  the  following  March,  a  royal  charter  was  issued  con- 
firming the  same  and  granting  governmental  powers  over  the 
tract  described  as  follows: — ''All  that  Parte  of  Newe  Eng- 
land in  America,  which  lyes  and  extendes  betweene  a  great 
River  there,  comonlie  called  Monomack  River,  alias  Merri- 
mack River,  and  a  certen  other  River  there,  called  Charles 
River,  being  in  the  Bottome  of  a  certen  Bay  there,  comonlie 
called  Massachusetts,  alias  Mattachusetts,  alias  Massatusetts 
Bay;  and  also  all  and  singuler  those  Landes  and  Heredita- 
ments whatsoever,  lying  within  the  Space  of  Three  Englishe 
Myles  on  the  South  Parte  of  the  said  River,  called  Charles 
River,  or  of  any  or  every  Parte  thereof;  and  also  all  and 
singuler  the  Landes  and  Hereditaments  whatsoever,  lying  and 
being  within  the  Space  of  Three  Englishe  Myles  to  the  south 
of  the  southernmost  Parte  of  the  said  Baye,  called  Massachu- 
setts, .  .  .  Bay  :  And  also  all  those  Landes  and  Heredita- 
ments whatsoever,  which  lye  and  be  within  the  Space  of  Three 
Englishe  Myles  to  the  Northward  of  the  saide  River,  called 
Monomack,  alias  Merry  mack,  or  to  the  Northward  of  any 
and  every  Parte  thereof,  and  all  Landes  and  Hereditaments 
whatsoever,  lying  within  the  Lymitts  aforesaide,  North  and 
South,  in  Latitude  and  Bredth,  and  in  Length  and  Longitude, 
of  and  within  all  the  Bredth  aforesaide,  throughout  the  mayne 
Landes  there,  from  the  Atlantick  and  Western  Sea  and  Ocean 
on  the  East  Parte,  to  the  South  Sea  on  the  West  Parte,^'  in- 
cluding the  neighboring  islands.^    A  portion  of  this  district, 

^  Char,  ancl  Cons.,  I,  194. 


American  National  and  State  Boundaries.  107 

to  the  north,  had  already  been  conveyed  in  1622  to  Mason, 
and  had  received  the  name  of  Mariana ;  another  portion,  ten 
by  thirty  miles  in  extent,  had  been  bestowed  in  1623  on 
Robert  Gorges.  Massachusetts  was,  however,  to  extend  her 
jurisdiction  very  considerably  north  and  south,  and  then  to 
undergo  a  number  of  amputations,  before  her  borders  should 
become  permanently  established. 

That  the  spirit  of  colonization  was  rife  in  England,  was  not 
the  only  ground  for  increase  in  the  number  of  distinct  settle- 
ments which,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  sprang  up  in  New 
England.^  Grants  to  enterprising  individuals  did  their  work ; 
but  no  less  did  the  dissatisfaction  produced  by  the  strictness,  nay 
harshness,  of  the  Massachusetts  authorities.  To  this  cause  in 
whole  or  in  part,  is  due  the  emigration  which  led  to  the  found- 
ing of  the  present  states  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut. 
Herein  lay  the  seeds  of  another  conilict.  Although  not  within 
her  charter  limits,  Massachusetts  laid  claim  to  the  jurisdiction 
over  her  emigrants.^  For  a  time  each  of  the  off-shoots  was 
practically  independent ;  then  gradually  took  place  a  drawing 
together  round  the  two  main  settlements.  But  there  was  a 
middle  district  which,  for  more  than  half  a  century,  continued 
to  be  the  cause  of  dispute. 

The  Plymouth  Company  made  at  an  early  date,  several 
small  grants  of  land  in  the  district  immediately  to  the  north 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  territory ;  but  these  were  ignored 
and  superseded  by  an  extensive  cession  to  John  Mason, 
November  7th,  1629,  embracing  the  coast  from  the  Merrimack 
to  the  Piscataqua  and  sixty  miles  inland.  As  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  charter  conveyed  all  the  land  to  the  extent  of  three 
miles  north  of  any  part  of  the  Merrimack  River,  and  as  by 

^Hildreth,  I,  267,  writing  of  the  year  1640,  says:  "Already  there  existed 
east  of  the  Hudson  twelve  independent  communities,  comprising  not  less 
than  fifty  towns  or  distinct  settlements." 

^ Ibid.,  I,  232.  "The  emigrants  [of  1636]  took  with  them  a  commission 
of  government,  the  joint  act  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Court  and  of  the 
commissioners  representing  the  lords  proprietors  of  Connecticut. 


108  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

survey  it  was  found  that  that  river  extends  inland  toward  the 
northwest,  Massachusetts  claimed  jurisdiction,  and  exercised  it 
at  times,  oyer  this  section.  After  a  century's  dispute  the  mat- 
ter came  finally  before  the  highest  authorities  in  England  for 
settlement,  and  Massachusetts  suffered  a  greater  diminution  of 
territory  thereby  than  even  New  Hampshire  had  asked  or  had 
reason  to  expect.  "  The  Privy  Council  decided,  however,  that 
this  due  west  line  (from  a  point  three  miles  north  of  the  Mer- 
rimack River)  should  take  its  departure  from  a  point  three 
miles  north  of  the  south  westernmost  bend  of  that  river,  thus 
giving  to  New  Hampshire  twenty-eight  entire  townships,  and 
parts  of  six  others  settled  under  grants  from  Massachusetts." 

The  early  history  of  the  region  now  included  in  the  state  of 
Maine  is  kaleidoscopic  in  character ;  and  is  as  little  capable  of 
short  description  as  the  complicated  movements  of  that  instru- 
ment.^ The  conflicting  claims  there  of  French  and  English, 
of  Mason  and  Gorges,  of  Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  and  New 
York,  present  an  exceedingly  confused  picture.  The  English 
finally  conquered  the  French  in  war ;  Massachusetts  bought 
out  Gorges'  claim.  After  the  formation  of  the  republic,  Mas- 
sachusetts was  induced  to  give  up  her  claims,  and  Maine 
became  [1820]  an  independent  member  of  the  Union.  Its 
eastern  boundary  had  been  a  subject  of  dispute  between  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States  from  the  time  of  their  first  treaty, 
— they  not  being  able  to  agree  as  to  which  river  was  meant 
under  the  name  of  St.  Croix.  By  the  treaty  of  1794  between 
these  powers,  a  commission  was  constituted  for  determining 
the  question.  The  members  thereof  were  enabled  to  reach  a 
conclusion  by  discovering  the  remains  of  an  old  fort  on  the 
banks  of  the  stream  now  known  as  the  St.  Croix ;  and  decided 
also  that  the  eastern  and  not  the  western  branch  of  the  same 
should  form  the  boundary.     The  New  Hampshire  line  had 


^ Ihid.y  I,  201.  "The  coast  from  the  Piscataqua  to  the  Kennebec  was 
covered  by  six  other  patents  [than  that  of  Gorges],  issued  in  the  course  of 
three  years  by  the  Council  for  New  England.' 


American  National  and  State  Boundaries.  109 

been  definitely  settled  by  the  English  Privy  Council  at  the 
same  time  [1737]  as  the  northern  line  of  Massachusetts  had 
been  fixed. 

The  royal  commission  of  1664  had  attempted  to  settle 
boundary,  as  well  as  other  disputes  in  New  England.  How- 
ever, their  decisions  had  but  little  permanent  effect.  Among 
other  matters  referred  to  this  commission,  was  the  settlement 
of  the  quarrel  over  the  territory  between  Rhode  Island  and 
Connecticut.  Orders  had  been  given  that,  if  it  were  found 
true,  as  reported,  that  this  district  had  been  ceded  by  the 
Indians  to  King  Charles  I,  then  Nicholls  was  to  seize  it 
in  the  name  of  the  king,  and  give  it  the  name  of  King's 
Province.  "After  hearing  the  parties,  the  commissioners 
directed  that  the  territory  in  dispute,  including  the  whole 
Narraganset  country,  should  constitute,  under  the  name  of 
King's  Province,  a  separate  district."  .  .  .  This  decision, 
however,  did  not  end  the  matter.  It  was  held  invalid  because 
it  wanted  the  signature  of  Nicholls,  whose  participation  was 
essential  to  all  decisions  of  the  commissioners.  Disputes, 
both  as  to  jurisdiction  and  land  titles,  presently  revived,  and 
were  carried  on  for  the  next  fifty  years?  In  1683  another 
commission  reported,  "  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Narragan- 
set  country  belonged  to  Connecticut,  and  the  land  to  the 
Atherton  Company.''  Rhode  Island,  however,  charging  the 
commissioners  with  partiality,  succeeded  in  preventing  the 
confirmation  of  the  report.  Having  finally  come  before  the 
king  in  council,  the  matter  was  settled  in  1725  by  giving 
King's  Province  to  Rhode  Island,  thus  confirming  her  charter 
of  1662. 

The  charters  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  had  granted 
to  those  colonies  an  extension  of  their  respective  north  and 
south  boundaries  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  We  have  seen  that 
they,  especially  Connecticut,  came  thus  in  conflict  with  the 
Dutch  in  the  New  Netherlands ;  that  the  latter  were  driven 
from  the  Connecticut  river,  with  the  exception  of  the  land 
occupied  by  their  fort,  and  the  former  accepted  bounds  not 


110  America:    Its  Geographical  History. 

nearer  than  ten  miles  east  of  the  Hudson  river  [1650]. 
The  Duke  of  York\s  charter  of  1664  conveyed  to  him  the 
country  between  the  Connecticut  and  Delaware  rivers ;  and 
after  the  Dutch  had  been  conquered,  York^s  governor 
attempted  to  establish  a  claim  to  the  country  as  far  as  the 
Connecticut.  This,  however,  he  was  unable  to  do.  The 
commissioners  of  1664  determined  on  a  boundary-line  run- 
ning north-northwest  from  tide-water  in  the  ^Mamarouck.' 
But  learning  later  that  such  a  line  would  cross  the  Hudson  in 
the  Highlands,  instead  of  keeping  twenty  miles  east  of  that 
river,  the  same  commissioners  abrogated  their  former  decision, 
and  the  dispute  between  the  inhabitants  of  New  York  and 
Connecticut  was  renewed.  In  1683  there  was  an  afrreement 
entered  into  between  the  parties,  by  which  New  York  agreed 
to  cede  to  Connecticut  a  tract  of  61,440  acres,  in  return  for  a 
similar  tract  between  the  portion  so  setoff  and  Massachusetts. 
Royal  sanction  to  the  agreement  was  received,  and  New  York 
surveyed  and  set  off  to  Connecticut  the  portion  agreed  upon  ; 
but  the  latter  failed  to  do  her  part.  In  1725  commissioners 
were  appointed,  who  entered  into  articles  of  agreement  as  to 
the  manner  of  condlicting  the  survey,  and  there  halted  for  six 
years.  Finally  in  1731,  the  survey  was  made  of  the  portion 
north  of  that  which  had  been  set  off  by  New  York  in  1684 ;  and 
the  line  of  demarcation  between  New  York  and  Connecticut 
was  fixed  practically  as  now.  Nevertheless,  controversies  arose 
from  time  to  time  regarding  the  boundary ;  and  in  1860  New 
York  made  an  ex  parte  survey,  which  survey  was  adopted  by 
agreement  between  the  two  states  in  1880,  and  confirmed  by 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  on  February  26,  1881. 

Massachusetts  compromised  her  claim  to  land  in  New  York 
by  allowing  the  present  boundary-line  to  be  established  in 
consideration  of  receiving  one-half  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale 
of  the  public  lands  of  that  state. 

The  territory  now  forming  the  state  of  Vermont  was  the 
subject  of  a  long  and  bitter  struggle.  Though  explored  and 
claimed  by  the  French,  they  had  to  yield  that  with  their  other 


American  National  and  State  Boundaries.  Ill 

possessions  in  the  year  1763.  In  the  meantime  a  lively  con- 
test between  New  York  and  New  Hampshire  had  developed 
in  reference  to  the  same  district.  The  former  insisted  on 
having  her  charter  limits;  while  under  New  Hampshire's 
seal,  Went  worth,  the  royal  governor,  was  granting  lands  be- 
tween the  Connecticut  and  Lake  Champlain.  Massachusetts 
tried  also  to  extend  her  borders  in  this  direction ;  but  resigned 
her  claims  in  1781.  In  the  following  year  New  Hampshire 
did  likewise.  The  inhabitants  would  have  submitted  to  New 
York's  jurisdiction  if  that  state  had  recognized  the  validity 
of  the  New  Hampshire  land  grants.  Failing  to  do  this,  the 
sturdy  inhabitants  of  the  district  held  out  for  an  independent 
state  government ;  and  succeeded  finally  in  1790  in  wringing 
from  New  York  her  consent  thereto. 

The  New  Netherlands  had  extended  their  sway  to  the  west 
of  the  Delaware  in  1655.  But  that  portion  of  her  dominions 
did  not  prosper,  and  the  victors  did  not  long  have  the  pleasure 
of  ruling  over  their  conquered  neighbors.  After  nine  years, 
the  whole  region  falls  a  prey  to  a  new  conqueror,  England. 
The  agents  of  the  Duke  of  York  seized  the  settlements  on 
the  west  of  the  Delaware  as  well  as  those  on  the  east,  although 
that  river  formed  his  charter  bounds ;  and  till  1681  they 
ruled  the  same  as  an  appendage  of  New  York.  In  that  year 
a  new  colony  is  marked  out  which  is  to  extend  five  degrees 
west  of  the  Delaware  River,  with  northern  extension  to  "  the 
three  and  fortieth  degree  of  Northerne  Latitude ;  and  bounded 
on  the  South  by  a  Circle  drawne  at  twelve  miles  distance 
from  New  Castle  Northward  and  Westward  unto  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fortieth  degree  of  Northern  Latitude,  and  then  by 
a  streight  Line  Westward  to  the  Limitt  of  Longitude  above- 
mentioned."  Read  as  a  whole,  the  charter  is  evidently  in- 
tended to  grant  three  degrees  of  latitude;  but  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  expression,  "  the  said  Lands  to  bee  bounded  on 
the  North  by  the  beginning  of  the  three  and  fortieth  degree 
of  Northern  Latitude,"  it  was  decided  in  the  middle  of  the 
following  century  that  the  king  could  grant  lands  to  the  north 


112  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

of  the  "  beginning  ^'  of  the  forty-third  degree  of  latitude,  which 
was  interpreted  as  meaning  all  north  of  the  forty-second 
parallel.  This  practically  excluded  Pennsylvania  from  the 
commerce  of  Lake  Erie.  But  in  1781  New  York  released  to 
the  general  government  all  land  to  which  she  had  claim,  west 
of  the  meridian  of  the  western  extremity  of  Lake  Ontario ; 
and  the  small  triangle  thus  wrmed  on  Lake  Erie  was  bought 
by  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  from  the  general  government  in 
1792.  In  the  Virginia  charter  of  1609  occurred,  in  the  de- 
scription of  the  territory  granted,  the  following  expression : 
"  and  all  that  Space  and  Circuit  of  Land,  lying  from  the  Sea 
Coast  of  the  Precinct  aforesaid,  up  into  the  Land  through- 
out from  Sea  to  Sea,  West  and  Northwest.''  Under  this 
patent,  or  rather  description  (for  the  patent  was  at  an 
early  day  abrogated),  Virginia  claimed  for  a  long  time  the 
territory  now  comprised  within  the  western  limits  of  Penn- 
sylvania :  but  was  finally  led  to  acquiesce  in  the  terms  of  the 
latter's  patent  by  which  the  line  five  degrees  west  of  the  Del- 
aware became  the  western  border. 

Pennsylvania's  southern  boundary-line  was  the  cause  of  a 
bitter  quarrel  with  Maryland,  of  ninety  years'  duration.  The 
charter  of  the  latter  defined  her  northern  boundary  as  extend- 
ing from  the  Delaware  Bay  in  a  direct  line  to  the  meridian 
of  the  head  waters  of  the  Potomac ;  but  it  also  provided  that 
that  line  should  be  on  the  fortieth  parallel  of  latitude.  As 
the  bay  does  not  extend  so  far  north  as  forty  degrees,  it  was 
impossible  to  reconcile  the  two  descriptions.  Penn's  territory 
was  to  be  bounded  on  the  south  by  a  curved  line,  drawn  at  a 
radius  of  twelve  miles  from  New  Castle,  and  continued  by 
the  fortieth  parallel ;  and  these  two  descriptions  were  also 
irreconcilable  with  each  other.  Baltimore  claimed  to  the  fortieth 
parallel  wherever  the  astronomers  might  find  it,  in  as  much 
as  that  would  give  him  the  most  territory ;  while  Penn,  for 
the  same  reason,  claimed  to  the  twelve-mile  line  from  New 
Castle.  According  to  the  rules  of  law  the  concrete,  such  as 
the  mention  of  the  Delaware  Bay  and  the  line  at  a  fixed  dis- 


Ameriean  National  and  State  Boundaries.  113 

tance  from  New  Castle,  takes  precedence  of  the  general  or 
imaginary,  as  the  fortieth  parallel,  whose  determination 
depends  on  the  accuracy  of  the  astronomical  instruments  used, 
and  the  skill  of  the  observer ;  so  that  technically  Penn  had 
the  better  case  ;  and  the  courts  and  Privy  Council  of  England 
so  decided  a  number  of  times ;  but  the  Balti mores  continued 
to  contest  the  matter  so  long  as  there  was  a  possibility  of 
gaining  thereby ;  and  the  matter  was  not  finally  settled  until 
1767,  by  the  survey  of  the  famous  Mason  and  Dixon  line, 
which  line  was  the  result  of  a  compromise,  agreed  upon  by 
the  parties  to  the  dispute  in  1732,  and  enforced  by  the  Eng- 
lish court  in  1760/ 

Nature  herself  had  settled,  on  three  sides,  the  bounds  of 
New  Jersey.  But  with  the  fourth,  that  colony  had  difficul- 
ties enough.  Several  months  before  he  himself  w^as  in  pos- 
session, the  Duke  of  York  granted  to  Carteret  and  Berkeley 
this  peninsula,  to  be  bounded  ^^  on  the  north  by  a  line  drawn 
from  the  Hudson  at  the  forty-first  parallel  of  latitude,  to 
strike  the  Delaware  in  41°  40'."  The  Peninsula  was  for  a 
time  divided  into  east  and  west  provinces,  which  however  in 
the  end  became  united.  There  were  numerous  attempts  to 
incorporate  the  whole  in  New  York,  but  they  ultimately 
failed ;  as  did  also  the  persistent  efforts  of  New  York  to 
move  the  dividing  line  further  toward  the  south ;  so  that  in 
consequence  the  first  designated  bounds  became  the  permanent 
ones  for  New  Jersey. 

The  history  of  the  boundary-lines  of  Delaware  is  intimately 
connected  with  that  of  Pennsylvania,  as  both  territories  were 
under  the  rule  of  the  same  English  grantee.  At  the  same 
time  as  the  southern  limit  of  Pennsylvania  was  settled,  Del- 
aware's bounds  were  also  fixed.  The  twelve-mile  circle  from 
the  centre  of  New  Castle  was  her  northern  boundary ;   her 


^  For  details  see  the  author's  article :  "  The  boundary  dispute  between 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland."     Pennsylvania  Mag.  of  Hist,  and  Biog.,  Octo- 
ber, 1885. 
8 


114  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

territory  was  to  extend  so  far  south  as  the  claimed  position 
of  Cape  Henlopen  of  the  old  maps,  which  accounts  for 
the  discrepancy  of  the  description  with  the  modern  maps. 
From  this  point,  a  due  east  and  west  line  was  to  be  run 
across  the  land  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  from  its  centre, 
a  straight  line  was  to  be  run  tangent  to  the  circle  about 
New  Castle;  and  from  the  point  of  contact,  a  due  north 
and  south  line  was  to  be  carried  to  the  southern  border  line 
of  Pennsylvania. 

South  of  the  fortieth  parallel  lies  an  immense  district,  the 
whole  of  which  was  at  first  called  by  the  English,  Virginia. 
Only  a  comparatively  small  portion  surrounding  the  spot 
on  which  was  established  the  first  permanent  settlement 
there,  retains  the  name  to-day.  To  the  north  lies  Mary- 
land, the  first  tract  that  became  independent ;  of  whose 
north  and  east  boundaries  we  have  already  spoken.  To  the 
west  there  could  be  no  ground  of  dispute,  except  as  to  that 
small  portion  of  the  line  between  the  head  waters  of  the 
Potomac  and  the  southern  line  of  Pennsylvania.  This  was 
surveyed  by  commissioners  appointed  by  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia in  1859,  and  ratified  by  the  Maryland  legislature  in  the 
year  1860 ;  and  since  the  formation  of  West  Virginia,  is  the 
border  between  that  state  and  Maryland.  But  as  to  which 
branch  of  the  Potomac  should  be  considered  its  head  waters 
continues  to  this  day,  I  believe,  a  subject  of  dispute  between 
Maryland  and  Virginia.  The  short  southern  boundary-line 
on  the  eastern  peninsula  was  also  the  cause  of  considerable 
trouble  between  Maryland  and  Virginia.  In  order  to  fill  the 
disputed  territory  with  persons  attached  to  his  interest.  Lord 
Baltimore  offered  the  lauds  here  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
neighboring  counties  of  Virginia  on  specially  favorable  terms, 
which  offers  "  appear  to  have  been  gladly  accepted."  In  the 
end  however  Virginia  seems  to  have  been  the  winner ;  for  as 
late  as  1874  we  find  among  an  enumeration  of  Maryland's 
losses,  taking  the  bounds  of  the  original  charter  as  the  stand- 


American  National  and  State  Boundaries.  115 

ard, — "  and  to  Virginia  a  half  million  of  acres.^^  ^  The  final 
settlement  was  made  by  the  award  of  arbitrators  in  1877, 
which  was  ratified  by  the  respective  states,  and  at  last  by  Con- 
gress in  1879. 

As  early  as  1630  a  large  tract  south  of  the  present  Virginia 
was  granted  to  Sir  Robert  Heath  ;  but  as  no  permanent  settle- 
ment came  into  existence  under  his  authority,  the  grant  was 
afterwards  declared  void  ;  and  in  1663  the  Earl  of  Clarendon, 
the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  and  others  received  a  patent  from 
the  English  monarch  for  all  that  tract  extending  from  ^'  Lucke 
Island,  which  lieth  in  the  southern  Virginia  seas,  and  within 
six  and  thirty  degrees  of  the  northern  latitude,"  as  far  south 
"  as  the  river  St.  Matthias,  which  bordereth  upon  the  coast  of 
Florida,"  and  west  to  the  Pacific.  In  the  later  charter  of 
1665  these  limits  were  somewhat  changed,  the  northern 
extremity  being  placed  at  the  north  end  of  "  Currituck  river 
or  inlet,"  while  the  southern  line  was  extended  to  the  twenty- 
ninth  parallel.  The  influx  of  immigrants  was  for  a  time 
considerable  ;  and  they  mostly  gathered  round  two  centres,  in 
the  northern  and  southern  portions  respectively.  Inspired 
with  ideas  of  freedom  and  popular  rights,  they  broke  away 
not  only  from  the  proprietors,  but  also  from  each  other.  The 
border-line  remained  for  a  long  time  a  matter  of  controversy ; 
a  decision  of  the  English  authorities  was  reached  in  1772,  but 
failed  of  establishment.  On  attaining  independence  in  1776, 
North  Carolina  recognized  the  border  line  as  laid  down  by 
the  English  authorities,  and  inserted  it  in  her  constitution 
adopted  that  year.  It  was  to  be  a  north-west  line  starting  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Little  River  and  running  "  through  the 
boundary  house,  which  stands  in  thirty-three  degrees  fifty-six 
seconds,  to  thirty-five  degrees  north  latitude ;  and  from  thence 
a  west  course  so  far  as  is  mentioned  in  the  Charter  of  King  " 


^  Report  and  journal  of  proceedings  of  the  joint  commissioners  to  adjust 
the  boundary  line  of  the  States  of  Maryland  and  Virginia.  Annapolis, 
1874,  p.  122. 


116  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

"Charles  II.  to  the  late  proprietors  of  Carolina."  South 
Carolina  was  unwilling  to  accept  this  simple  boundary-line  ; 
and  the  result  of  disputes  and  defective  surveying  is  the  present 
irregular  one,  by  which  North  Carolina  has  lost  "  probably 
between  500  and  1,000  square  miles."  ^  In  1789  the  state 
ceded  to  the  federal  government  all  lands  to  which  she  had 
claim  west  of  the  Smoky  Mountains ;  but  the  commissioners 
who  surveyed  the  southern  part  of  the  line  in  1821  made  it  a 
direct  north  and  south  line  instead  of  following  the  mountains, 
by  which  North  Carolina  h)st  a  valuable  mining  district. 

In  1732  there  was  carved  out  of  South  Carolina  all  the 
country  between  the  most  northern  branch  of  the  Savannah 
and  the  most  southern  branch  of  the  Altamaha  (most  probably 
the  St.  Matthias  of  the  charter  of  1663),  and  extending  west 
from  their  respective  sources  to  the  Pacific.  To  this  tract  was 
given  the  name  of  Georgia.  Trouble  arising  with  the  Spanish 
colony  of  Florida,  there  was  conquered  and  retained  the  post 
at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Mary's  River.  Florida  itself  being 
ceded  to  England  in  1763,  the  district  between  St.  Mary's 
and  the  Altamaha  was  formally  annexed  to  Georgia  by  pro- 
clamation and  has  ever  since  continued  to  be  a  part  of  the  same. 
There  were  however  long  disputes  as  to  which  stream  consti- 
tutes the  head  of  St.  Mary's  ;  and  the  matter  was  not  finally 
decided  until  the  present  century. 

Thus  we  have  attempted  to  sketch  the  manner  in  which 
our  national  and  early  state  boundaries  became  what  they  are. 
Almost  every  line  has  a  history  of  its  own,  which  it  would  be 
interesting  to  follow  out  in  detail ;  but  that  would  take  us 
much  beyond  the  limits  of  a  lecture. 

The  charters  of  some  of  the  original  colonies  extended  their 
jurisdiction  west  to  the  Pacific ;  but  this  they  were  destined 
never  to  enjoy.  The  valley  of  the  Mississippi  received  French 
and  Spanish  immigrants  before  English  settlers  made  their 
way  thither.     When  France  was  compelled  to  resign  Canada 

^  Quoted  in  Henry  Gannett's  Boundaries  of  the  United  States,  p.  95. 


American  National  and  State  Boundaries.  117 

in  1763,  England,  on  the  other  hand,  yielded  all  claim  to  ter- 
ritory west  of  the  Mississippi.  The  United  States  having  won 
their  independence  from  the  latter  country,  fell  heir  to  her 
claims  as  far  west  as  that  river.  There  being  great  practical 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  settling  the  conflicting  claims  of  the 
several  states  to  the  immense,  almost  uninhabited  tract,  between 
the  Appalachian  Mountains  and  the  Mississippi,  Virginia  led 
the  way  [1781]  in  offering  to  resign  her  share  of  the  same  to 
the  national  government,  on  condition  that  the  territory  so 
surrendered  should  in  time,  when  sufficiently  populated,  be 
divided  into  states  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union  on  the  same 
footing  as  the  original  states.  This  generous  example  was 
followed  by  other  states.  At  first  with  scattered  population 
and  immense  extent,  there  were  formed  territorial  or  tempo- 
rary governments,  with  the  main  power  resting  in  the  federal 
government.  As  population  increased,  bounds  were  con- 
tracted ; — natural  boundary-lines  where  practicable  being 
adopted  ;  and  when  no  natural  boundary  offered  itself,  straight 
north  and  south,  and  east  and  west  lines  were  generally  laid 
down.  From  this  point  on,  the  subject  has  less  interest. 
There  was  now  a  central  power  to  settle  the  lines  of  demarka- 
tion ;  and  these  were  generally  acquiesced  in  without  hesita- 
tion. The  territory,  west  of  the  Mississippi  came  by  treaties, 
directly  into  the  hands  of  the  national  government ;  and  the 
several  states  as  such,  have  had  little  or  no  voice  in  the  matter 
of  its  division.  Here  was  again  the  story  of  increasing  pop- 
ulation and  narrowing  bounds ;  and  where  there  was  no  inter- 
national dispute,  the  boundary-lines  of  the  far  west  present 
comparatively  little  material  for  the  historian. 


VI. 

Geographical  Work  of  the  National  Government. 

The  intelligent  mind  has  a  natural  curiosity  to  know  some- 
thing of  the  world  in  which  we  live ;  how  much  more  then 
of  the  land  which  we  call  ours,  to  which  we  owe  allegiance, 
in  patriotism  for  which  our  breasts  are  supposed  to  swell  with 
pride  whenever  her  name  is  mentioned,  and  in  defence  of 
which  we  may  be  called  upon  at  any  moment  to  lay  down  our 
lives.  Moreover,  such  a  mobile  population  as  the  American, 
wishes  to  know  of  all  parts  of  its  country,  so  that  each  one 
may  see  if  perchance  he  might  not  better  his  condition  by 
going  elsewhere  than  where  he  is  at  the  time  being.  Then 
too,  there  is  the  economical  consideration  : — when  men  are 
hunting  the  treasures  of  the  earth,  a  geological  map  may  help 
them  materially  in  the  search.  For  the  great  nations  of 
Europe,  the  chief  reason  for  making  a  perfect  map  of  their  land 
is  one  of  military  aim,  as  the  fate  of  battles  is  often 
decided  by  the  more  or  less  accurate  knowledge  of  the  topog- 
raphy of  the  ground  whereon  they  are  to  be  fought.  To  this 
end  the  principal  nations  there  have  had  constructed  maps 
whereon  it  is  attempted  to  represent  not  only  the  main  features 
of  elevation  and  drainage ;  but  it  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say 
that  every  farm  house  and  every  clump  of  trees,  together  with 
every  by-path  are  represented.  With  these  maps  it  is  possible 
even  for  a  stranger  to  go  through  the  land  without  a  guide,  and 
follow  his  route  with  almost  as  much  confidence  as  though  he 
were  at  home  there.  As  America  changes  with  great  rapidity 
in  its  cultural  aspects,  especially  in  the  West,  the  United 
118 


Geographical  Work  of  the  National  Government.      119 

States  authorities  have  not  deemed  it  advisable  to  go  into  such 
detail  here ;  but,  though  we  do  not  expect  a  war,  as  do  the 
nations  of  Europe,  and  can  therefore  spare  the  expense  of  such 
minute  work,  the  surveying  that  had  already  been  done  before 
the  opening  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  was  found  very 
useful  to  the  authorities  during  the  war ;  and  the  Survey  has 
been  more  popular  and  has  secured  the  support  of  Congress 
in  a  much  more  liberal  spirit  ever  since.  Another  object, 
which  in  Europe  leads  to  the  making  of  accurate  national 
maps,  but  is  of  little  importance  here,  is  for  taxing  purposes. 
Where  the  population  is  crowded  together,  and  the  expenses 
of  government  great  in  proportion  to  the  national  wealth,  it 
becomes  important  to  be  able  to  tax  everything  which  will 
bear  it;  and  land  has  been  in  all  countries  an  important 
source  of  revenue  to  the  government ;  as  population  increases, 
the  value  of  land  per  square  foot  gains  in  importance,  and  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  possibilities  of  the  revenues  is 
necessary  to  the  authorities.  Though  our  national  government 
lays  no  tax  on  land  in  private  hands,  the  same  is  generally 
subject  to  local  taxation;  and,  as  the  best  surveys  in  the 
country  are  those  of  the  central  authorities,  several  of  the 
state  governments  have  called  in  the  assistance  of  the  central 
power  in  surveying  their  domains.  This  country's  immense 
coast-line,  in  connection  with  its  great  natural  wealth,  destined 
it  for  a  land  of  large  commercial  interests ;  and  in  furtherance 
of  these  interests  it  is  necessary  to  do  what  is  possible  for  the 
safety  of  the  shipping  engaged  in  the  carrying  trade.  Accord- 
ingly a  knowledge  of  the  coast  of  the  country  is  of  paramount 
importance.  This  is  not  to  be  had  for  the  mere  asking ; 
because  the  gaining  of  that  knowledge  must  come  through 
work  of  the  most  delicate  and  complicated  kind.  Not  only 
must  the  line  between  land  and  water  be  laid  down,  and  that 
varies  from  hour  to  hour  on  account  of  the  tides ;  but  the 
points  on  the  land  by  which  the  position  of  a  ship  nearing  the 
shore  can  be  determined,  must  also  be  accurately  mapped.  To 
this  add  the  necessity  of  knowing  the  channels  by  which  the 


120  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

shore  may  be  safely  approached,  the  direction  of  the  currents 
through  which  one  must  pass,  and  which  have  an  influence  on 
the  sailing  of  the  ship ;  and  still  more,  the  depth  of  water  at 
a  given  time,  as  that  is  equally  important ;  and  it  will  be  seen 
how  necessary  it  is  for  a  commercial  country  to  have  a 
coast  survey. 

How  are  maps  made  ?  is  a  very  natural  question,  after  one 
has  been  talking  so  much  about  the  product.  The  method 
pursued  depends  very  largely  on  the  object  aimed  at.  The 
maps  of  some  of  the  early  navigators  serve  as  an  illustration 
of  what  may  be  done  by  personal  observation  of  a  country, 
with  little  or  no  assistance  from  instruments.  With  training, 
one  may  acquire  the  power  of  observing  closely  and  repro- 
ducing fairly  well  what  one  has  seen.  An  army  officer  told 
me  at  Washington,  that  men  are  now  trained  in  our  army  so 
that  after  riding  over  the  country  they  can  on  their  return 
make  a  very  fair  sketch  of  the  topography  of  the  land  seen, 
and  sufficiently  accurate  to  enable  a  commander  to  place  his 
troops  for  a  battle,  dispose  his  artillery  to  advantage,  etc. 
But  on  such  reconnaisances,  as  they  are  called,  no  accurate 
maps  could  be  based.  A  step  higher  in  the  scale  of  accuracy 
are  the  ordinary  plane  surveys,  such  as  are  used  in  platting 
land  for  the  market,  or  city  building  lots.  Though  this 
method  is  sufficiently  accurate  for  short  distances,  it  is  utterly 
inadequate  for  long  distances,  owing  to  the  spheroidal  form 
of  the  earth ;  as,  for  example,  a  survey  continued  in  this 
manner  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  northern  boundary  of 
the  State  of  Mississippi,  would  there  be  in  error  four  miles  in 
every  hundred. 

Up  to  a  comparatively  recent  period,  the  best  maps  of  the 
United  States  were  almost  entirely  based  on  such  surveys,  as 
no  other  kind  had  been  carried  out  to  any  extent.  Separate 
portions  of  the  country  had  been  thus  surveyed,  as  was  thought, 
with  sufficient  accuracy ;  but  when  it  was  attempted  to  unite 
into  one  whole  the  several  maps  thus  produced,  they  were 
found  not  to  fit,  and  some  strange  results  were  noted ;  as  for 


Geographical  Work  of  the  National  Government.     121 

example  the  Ohio  River  disappeared,  while  the  Mississippi 
was  almost  annihilated  in  some  places,  and  in  others  its  width 
increased  to  several  miles.  For  really  accurate  surveying,  it 
is  necessary  to  have  a  geodetic  foundation,  that  is,  all  lines 
must  be  considered  in  reference  to  the  curvature  of  the  earth^s 
surface.  Work  of  this  kind  requires  a  knowledge  of  higher 
mathematics,  together  with  skill  in  using  instruments  of 
the  utmost  delicacy  for  astronomical  and  terrestrial  obser- 
vation. The  foundation  of  this  work  is  in  the  astronomical  de- 
termination of  the  position  of  two  or  more  points  on  the  surface 
of  the  earth  ;  for  the  earth  being  spherical,  there  is  no  other 
method  of  determining  absolute  position  on  it  than  in  reference 
to  the  heavens  ;  and  even  this  is  not  infallible,  as  the  improve- 
ment in  methods  and  instruments  of  one  agre  has  shown  the 
errors  of  the  preceding.  But  it  is  the  best  we  have,  and  must 
therefore  be  the  basis  of  the  best  work.  The  amount  of  labor 
involved  in  such  determination  of  position  may  be  judged  from 
the  fact  that  Mechain  and  Delambre,  two  famous  French 
surveyors,  each  made  1800  astronomical  observations  to  ascer- 
tain the  exact  position  of  the  Pantheon  at  Paris.  Then  there 
must  be  a  base-line  measured  on  the  earth,  for  which  work 
many  instruments  have  been  invented,  with  ever  increasing 
accuracy ;  so  that  now  it  is  maintained  that  the  experts  can 
measure  a  mile  on  the  ground  with  a  probable  error  of  only 
one-quarter  of  an  inch  or  less.  This  line  must  be  connected  by 
triangles  with  the  points  astronomically  determined  ;  and  each 
angle  of  every  triangle  is,  on  the  average,  measured  thirty 
times  by  those  engaged  on  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey.  But  even 
this  is  not  all,  for  the  altitude  of  every  point  must  be  known 
and  then  reduced  to  the  level  of  the  sea.  In  determining  the 
size  and  form  of  the  earth,  to  which  all  this  work  naturally 
leads,  it  is  not  the  form  as  presented  to  the  eye,  but  an 
imaginary  form,  such  as  there  would  be  if  the  entire  globe 
were  covered  with  a  calm  ocean.  Only  with  such  a  beginning 
is  it  possible  to  prepare  a  correct  map  of  the  country.  The 
further  work  to  be  done  depends  on  the  object  for  which  the 


122  Ametnea:   Its  Geographical  History. 

survey  is  made.  If  that  is  for  a  general  map  of  a  country, 
such  as  you  find  in  the  ordinary  atlas,  only  a  comparatively 
few  points  need  to  be  thus  established,  and  the  rest  can  be 
drawn  in  after  less  careful  observations  of  the  intervening 
country.  If  the  utmost  accuracy  is  sought,  then  it  becomes 
necessary  to  observe  with  great  care  an  almost  innumerable 
number  of  triangles,  and  to  pass  over  practically  every  foot  of 
the  ground,  and  note  its  configuration.  The  work  of  our 
national  government  furnishes  us  with  illustrations  of  all  the 
varieties  of  surveying  now  in  use  ;  for,  with  various  objects 
in  view  at  different  times,  the  government  has  instituted  sur- 
veys of  all  grades  of  accuracy.  For  ordinary  geographical 
purposes  the  survey  should  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  give, 
when  complete,  a  knowledge  of  the  distribution  of  land  and 
water,  of  the  elevations  of  the  land,  of  the  position  of  political 
borders,  and  the  situation  of  cities  and  towns.  Going  beyond 
this,  it  is  possible  to  have  maps  of  an  infinite  variety,  showing 
the  distribution  of  the  population,  or  of  the  mineral  resources, 
or  of  rainfall, — in  short,  of  an  endless  variety  of  matters  of 
information. 

In  the  prosecution  of  this  work  there  are  needed  not  only 
men  of  trained  minds  capable  of  doing  the  work,  but  also 
elaborate  instruments  for  the  necessary  observations ;  first  for 
the  determination  of  the  latitude,  which  is  now  done  princi- 
pally by  observing  stars  near  the  zenith,  instead  of  circum- 
polar  stars,  as  was  originally  the  case;  in  which  work,  the 
Americans  have  made  some  advances  on  that  of  their  prede- 
cessors. Then  the  longitude  is  to  be  determined,  in  which 
our  experts  have  shown  the  world  how  it  can  be  done  with 
the  greatest  accuracy,  namely,  by  means  of  the  electric  telegraph. 
In  perhaps  no  branch  of  science  has  the  advance  been  greater 
since  the  discovery  of  America,  than  just  here ;  for  the  early 
navigators  were  liable  to  mistakes  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
degrees  in  its  determination  ;  while,  for  example,  the  Coast  Sur- 
vey has  determined  the  longitude  of  Lafayette  Park,  San  Fran- 
cisco, by  several  sets  of  experiments  whose  results  differ  from  each 


Geographical  Work  of  the  National  Government.     123 

other  but  0.06  of  a  second  of  time  or  0.90  of  a  second  of  arc ;  or 
less  than  ^^Viy  of  the  error  of  the  early  navigators.  Of  very 
great  importance  is  also  the  manner,  as  well  as  the  means,  of 
measuring  the  base-lines;  because  an  inaccuracy  here  will 
extend  throughout  the  whole  line  dependent  on  it,  in  the  same 
proportion.  For  this  work  new  instruments  have  been 
invented  and  constructed  at  Washington,  in  the  manipulation 
of  which  there  has  been  distinguished  success.  In  the  obser- 
vation of  the  angles  of  the  triangles  by  which  the  survey  is 
conducted,  Americans  have  reached  as  high  a  degree  of  accuracy 
as  any  other  nation  ;  and  have  observed  the  greatest  distance 
ever  used  for  such  purpose,  in  one  case,  the  two  stations  being 
one  hundred  and  ninety-one  miles  apart.  After  all  the  innumer- 
able observations  have  been  made,  there  follows  the  intricate 
work  of  bringing  the  results  thus  obtained  into  shape  for  the 
construction  of  the  map,  which  is  the  ultimate  object  aimed 
at.  Now  the  artists  are  brought  into  requisition,  who  are  to 
place  on  paper,  correctly  and  in  a  manner  agreeable  to  the  eye 
and  also  easy  of  comprehension,  all  that  has  been  learned  by 
the  survey.  This  done,  the  picture  must  be  transferred  to 
stone  or  copper  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  printer.  From 
him  it  passes  to  the  public,  who  as  a  rule  have  not  the  slight- 
est conception  of  the  vast  amount  of  labor  that  has  been 
expended  on  its  production. 

It  will  probably  be  easier  to  understand  what  the  govern- 
ment has  done,  after  having  an  idea  of  the  problems  which  it 
was  desired  to  solve ;  hence  this,  perhaps  too  long,  introduc- 
tion. The  attention  of  the  federal  government  was  called  to 
the  need  of  a  survey  of  the  coast  as  early  as  1806,  by  Pro- 
fessor Patterson,  of  Philadelphia,  who,  it  is  believed,  was  the 
originator  of  the  idea.  President  Jefferson  recognized  the 
value  of  the  suggestion  and  sent  to  Congress  a  recommenda- 
tion in  accordance  therewith.  This  resulted  in  the  law  of 
1807  by  which  the  President  was  authorized  to  inaugurate  a 
survey  of  the  coast.  The  plan  of  work  submitted  by  Mr. 
Hassler,  a  Swiss  who  had  been  engaged  in  similar  work  in  his 


124  AmeiHca:   Its  Geographical  History. 

native  land,  was  accepted ;  and  he  was  authorized  to  go  to 
Europe  in  order  to  procure  the  necessary  instruments.  There 
were  unavoidable  delays  in  making  the  preliminary  prepa- 
rations, and  it  was  1811  before  Mr.  Hassler  departed  on  his 
mission.  Then  came  the  war  with  great  Britain,  and  other 
complications  arose,  so  that  he  did  not  return  with  the  neces- 
sary equipment  until  1816,  and  the  work  of  surveying  was 
commenced  the  year  following.  But  Congress  felt  dissatisfied 
with  the  slow  progress  of  its  measure,  and  refused,  after  two 
years,  to  renew  its  appropriation,  so  that  the  work  was  com- 
pelled to  cease  in  1819.  From  this  time  until  1832,  what 
little  was  done  toward  increasing  the  knowledge  of  our  coast- 
line was  done  by  the  navy,  but  so  poorly  that  Congress  was 
finally  induced  to  revive  the  old  law,  and  Mr.  Hassler  was 
again  placed  in  charge.  The  work  was  now  reorganized  in  a 
more  efficient  manner,  and  continued  under  the  same  direction 
until  Mr.  Hassler's  death  in  1843.  But  it  was  not  free  from 
fault-finding  criticism  during  this  time,  and  had  to  undergo 
a  searching  investigation  in  1842,  from  which  it  emerged  in 
triumph.  When  it  is  considered  that  Mr.  Hassler  had  to 
organize  the  work  from  the  foundation,  train  his  assistants, 
and  in  some  cases  even  invent  his  own  instruments,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  work  he  accomplished  in  the  ten  years  preced- 
ing the  investigation  was  most  creditable  to  him.  The  results 
are  thus  summarized  by  one  of  his  successors  :  "  A  base-line 
had  been  measured  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  the  com- 
mercial importance  of  which  obviously  indicated  it  as  the 
proper  point  of  beginning.  The  triangulation  had  extended 
eastward  to  Rhode  Island  and  southward  to  the  head  of  Ches- 
apeake Bay,  the  primary  triangulation  crossing  the  neck  of 
New  Jersey  and  Delaware,  while  a  secondary  triangulation 
skirted  the  coast  of  New  Jersey,  meeting  with  another  series 
which  extended  down  Delaware  Bay.  The  topography  had 
kept  pace  with  the  triangulation,  and  the  hydrography  of  New 
York  bay  and  harbor,  of  Long  Island  Sound,  of  Delaware 
bay  and  river,  and  the  off-shore  soundings  from  Montauk  " 


Geographical  Work  of  the  National  Government.     125 

"  Point  to  the  capes  of  the  Delaware  were  substantially  com- 
pleted. The  triangulation  covered  an  area  ^  of  9000  square 
miles,  furnishing  determinations  of  nearly  1200  stations  for 
the  delineation  of  1600  miles  of  shore-line ;  168  topographical 
maps  had  been  surveyed  and  142  hydrographical  charts.' " 
[Johnson's  Cyclopaedia,  Art.  Coast  Survey.] 

The  act  of  March  10th,  1843,  provided  that  the  Coast 
Survey  be  organized  on  a  plan  to  be  submitted  by  a  com- 
mission appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
to  consist  of  three  civilians,  two  officers  of  the  navy,  and  four 
of  the  army.  These  had  already  completed  their  task  by  the 
end  of  the  same  month ;  and  on  the  SOth,  submitted  to  the 
President,  "  The  Plan  for  the  reorganization  of  the  Coast 
Survey."  Professor  A.  D.  Bache  was  the  new  director ;  and 
throughout  the  period  of  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century,  during 
which  he  occupied  that  important  position,  the  Survey  con- 
tinued the  work  with  great  proficiency.  During  this  period  the 
United  States  doubled  its  coast-line  by  the  acquisition  of 
Mexican  territory,  and  the  settlement  of  the  Oregon  dispute ; 
so  that  there  was  all  the  more  necessity  for  increasing  the 
facilities  of  the  bureau.  In  1867  Mr.  Bache  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Professor  Benjamin  Pierce;  and  in  the  same 
year,  Alaska  was  purchased  from  Russia,  by  which  26,000 
miles  more  were  added  to  the  national  coast-line.  It  is  the 
duty  of  the  Coast  Survey  to  delineate  accurately  the  entire 
line  of  the  national  coast,  with  all  its  meanderings,  including 
all  bays,  and  rivers  up  to  the  head  of  tide-water,  as  well  as  the 
adjacent  islands.  Taking  this  view  of  it,  our  Atlantic  coast 
has  a  length  of  14,723  miles ;  that  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
10,406  miles  ;  and  the  Pacific  coast,  exclusive  of  Alaska,  4,252 
miles ;  so  that,  including  Alaska,  the  work  of  this  bureau 
must  cover  an  extent  of  more  than  55,000  miles.  Nor  is  this 
all ;  for  their  work  extends  inland  as  far  as  may  be  useful  for 
coast  defense ;  and  out  to  sea,  twenty  leagues,  and  sometimes 
further ;  as  in  investigating  the  Gulf  Stream.  Furthermore 
they  have   extended  a  geodetic  line  along  the  Appalachian 


126  America:   Its  Geographical  History, 

Mountains ;  and  lines  of  level  even  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, by  which  it  is  shown  that  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  is  40 
inches  higher  at  the  latter  point,  than  the  ocean  at  Cape  Cod, 
— a  most  important  discovery  which  suggests  at  once  a  theory 
as  to  the  cause  of  the  movement  of  the  Gulf  Stream.  And 
lastly,  they  are  running  a  geodetic  line  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific,  as  a  trustworthy  basis  for  the  accurate  geography 
of  the  interior.  Of  this  enormous  stretch  of  country  there 
now  (March  1st,  1892)  remain  to  be  surveyed  only  eight 
degrees  of  longitude, — some  portions  of  Kansas  and  Colorado, 
and  one  station  in  Utah,  being  still  unfinished. 

Notwithstanding  the  high  quality  of  the  work  done  by  this 
bureau,  which  has  received  the  approval  and  praise  of  scientists 
in  Europe  and  America,  there  have  not  been  wanting  from 
time  to  time  detractors,  who  have  made  charges  of  inefficiency, 
generally  coupled  with  the  demand  that  the  oversight  of  the 
bureau  be  transferred  to  another  department  of  the  govern- 
ment, namely  the  Navy — it  has  generally  been  a  sub-division 
of  the  Treasury  Department.  But  from  each  new  investiga- 
tion, it  has  come  out  with  increased  honor  ;  and  instead  of 
doing  it  harm,  the  attention  aroused  by  such  carping  has  only 
added  to  its  good  name. 

By  the  kindness  of  Professor  T.  C.  Mendenhall,  the  present 
Director  of  the  Survey,  I  have  been  placed  in  possession  of  a 
manuscript  copy  of  an  article  entitled  :  "  The  U.  S.  Coast 
and  Geodetic  Survey.  Summary  of  its  History,  Objects, 
Methods  of  Work  and  Contributions  to  Geographical  Knowl- 
edge,'' from  which  I  extract  the  following,  as  to  some  of  the 
results  of  this  gigantic  undertaking  of  our  government :  "  In 
the  introduction  of  improved  instruments,  apparatus  and 
methods  of  observation,  marked  progress  was  made.  The 
primary  base-lines  were  measured  with  an  apparatus  devised 
by  the  Superintendent  and  constructed  at  the  Office  of  the 
Survey  with  special  reference  to  accuracy  and  economy  of 
measurement  and  facility  of  use  in  the  field.  The  method  of 
determining  latitude  by  measuring  with  a  micrometer  small " 


Geographical  Work  of  the  National  Government.     127 

"  zenith  differences  of  stars  north  and  south  of  the  zenith,  as 
devised  by  Capt.  Talcott,  of  the  U.  S.  Engineers  by  an  in- 
genious adaptation  of  the  Zenith  Telescope,  was  brought  into 
general  use  in  the  Survey,  and  it  was  soon  found  by  discussion 
of  the  results  that  the  places  of  stars  thus  obtained  were  in 
many  cases  superior  in  precision  to  those  of  the  British  Associa- 
tion Catalogue.  This  led  to  a  demand  for  better  star 
places,  and  at  the  request  of  the  Superintendent,  the  Directors 
of  the  principal  Observatories  undertook  to  determine  the 
places  of  all  stars  observed  by  the  Coast  Survey  for  latitude. 
Not  only  was  the  accuracy  of  the  latitude  determinations  of 
the  Survey  thus  increased,  but  the  Observatories  themselves 
felt  the  stimulus  given  to  astronomical  research,  and  to  the 
publication  of  Star  Catalogues  of  a  high  order  of  precision." 

"  But  the  most  important  contribution  made  by  the  Coast 
Survey  to  practical  astronomy  was  undoubtedly  the  application 
of  the  electric  telegraph  to  the  determination  of  differences  of 
longitude.  It  was  part  of  the  plan  of  re-organization  of  1843 
that  the  difference  of  longitude  between  some  main  points  of 
the  Survey,  and  the  meridians  of  any  or  all  of  the  European 
observatories  should  be  ascertained  immediately.  The  Observ- 
atory at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  having  been  adopted  as 
the  point  of  reference  for  Coast  Survey  longitudes,  arrange- 
ments were  ol  once  carried  into  effect  for  the  transportation  of 
chronometers  between  Liverpool  and  Boston  ;  occultations  and 
moon  culminations  were  observed  regularly  at  Cambridge, 
Nantucket,  and  Philadelphia ;  and  care  was  taken  to  have 
observations  made  whenever  they  occurred.'^ 

"  As  soon  as  the  first  lines  of  electric  telegraph  were  estab- 
lished, experiments  were  made  at  the  suggestion  of  Professor 
Bache,  and  with  the  co-operation  of  Professor  Morse,  between 
Washington  and  Philadelphia  and  Philadelphia  and  New 
York.  The  Coast  Survey  Report  for  1846  contains  an 
account  of  the  first  successful  attempt  made  to  exchange 
signals  for  longitude,  by  the  electric  telegraph.  On  the  10th 
of  October  in  that  year  communication  was  effected  between  " 


128  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

"  Philadelphia  and  Washington  ;  signals  for  time  by  the  clock 
were  transmitted,  and  the  instant  of  transit  of  a  star  over  the 
wires  of  the  transit  instrument  was  telegraphed.  From  this 
date  each  year  brought  improvements  in  methods  of  observing 
and  recording ;  the  signals  were  soon  recorded  automatically 
by  astronomical  clocks  upon  chronographs.  The  Atlantic 
Cable  of  1866  was  at  once  utilized  as  a  means  of  determining 
the  longitude  of  Cambridge  from  Greenwich ;  in  1870,  a 
second  determination  was  made  through  the  French  Cables 
from  Brest  to  Duxbury,  Mass.,  the  cables  being  joined  at  St. 
Pierre,  Miquelon  ;  and  in  1872,  Brest  having  been  connected 
with  Greenwich  by  cable,  signals  from  Cambridge,  from 
Greenwich  and  from  Paris  were  united  at  Brest  and  compared 
on  the  Brest  chronograph,  and  a  satisfactory  junction  effected 
betw^een  the  American  and  European  systems  of  longitude.^' 

"  From  the  final  discussion  of  the  results  of  these  three 
determinations,  made  in  different  years  and  by  different 
observers,  it  appears  that  the  several  values  for  the  longitude 
of  Cambridge  from  Greenwich  do  not  differ  more  than  five- 
hundredths  of  a  second  of  time. 

"  The  distinguished  astronomer  Sir  George  B.  Airy,  Director 
of  the  Greenwich  Observatory,  was  among  the  first  to  recognize 
the  great  value  of  the  American  method,  as  it  soon  came  to  be 
called,  and  to  adopt  it  in  the  work  under  his  oliarge.  It  is 
now  in  general  use  by  astronomers  throughout  the  world.  In 
North  America,  the  stations  connected  by  telegraphic  deter- 
minations of  longitude  extend  from  Newfoundland  to  Mexico 
and  Central  America,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 
Upwards  of  one  hundred  and  forty  such  stations  have  been 
occupied  in  the  United  States." 

The  survey  of  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coast-lines  is  practi- 
cally complete.  As  to  what  still  remains  to  be  done  on  the 
Pacific,  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  Professor  Mendenhall 
himself.  In  a  letter  of  March  1st,  1892,  he  says:  "The 
portions  of  the  Pacific  Coast  remaining  to  be  surv^eyed  are  as 
follows : — The  primary  triangulation  from  about  latitude  40°  '^ 


Geographical  Wm^h  of  the  National  Government.     129 

"  to  the  vicinity  of  Olympia,  Washington  ;  the  coast  triangula- 
tion  from  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Sebastian  to  and  including  the 
Straits  of  Fuca,  excepting  detached  portions  in  the  vicinity  of 
Coos  Bay,  Willapa  Bay,  Gray's  Harbor,  Umbqua  and 
Yaquina  rivers,  etc. ;  the  topography  of  the  outer  coasts  of 
Oregon  and  Washington  is  about  one-third  completed,  but  a 
preliminary  or  reconnaissance  survey  has  been  made  over  the 
whole.  The  various  harbors  and  entrances  are  completed. 
The  Straits  of  Fuca  and  some  portions  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia 
are  still  unfinished.  The  hydrography  from  Cape  Orford  to 
Cape  Kiwanda,  Oregon,  and  from  Gray's  Harbor  to  Cape 
Johnson,  Washington,  remain  to  be  surveyed.  In  south-east 
Alaska  all  the  waters  between  the  main-land  and  the  islands, 
and  including  Portland  Canal,  from  Dixon  Entrance  to  the 
head  of  Chilcat  Inlet  have  been  surveyed,  but  all  other  por- 
tions of  the  Alaska  coast  remain  unsurveyed." 

I  cannot  say  just  what  amount  of  money  this  great  work  has 
cost;  but  in  a  pamphlet  of  1884,  entitled,  "The  late  attacks 
upon  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,"  p.  16,  there  is  the  fol- 
lowing statement :  "  The  average  appropriation  .  .  .  from 
1870  to  1884, — including  fourteen  fiscal  years, — has  been 
$622,200."  "  For  the  current  fiscal  year  (1891-92),  the  appro- 
priation for  field  and  office  expenses,  repairs  of  vessels,  Alaska 
Boundary  Survey,  &c.,  is  $515,130."  Besides  the  paid  officials 
of  the  Coast  Survey,  army  and  navy  officers  have  from  time 
to  time  been  detailed  by  their  respective  superiors  to  assist  in 
the  work ;  but  at  present  none  of  the  army  are  so  engaged, 
though  some  navy  officers  are  detailed  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment for  hydrographic  work  conducted  by  the  Coast  Survey. 

When  we  are  told  that  63,000  copies  of  charts  were  issued 
by  this  bureau  last  year  (1891),  it  enables  us  to  form  some 
slight  conception  of  the  large  scale  on  which  its  work  is  carried 
on.  These  charts  are  of  different  varieties,  both  as  to  methods 
of  presenting  the  facts  with  which  they  deal,  and  also  as  to 
the  amount  of  detail  given  thereon.  In  scale  they  range 
between  1  :  5000  and  1 :  80,000.  The  average  of  the  maps, 
9 


130  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

however,  are  made  on  a  scale  of  1 :  10,000,  or  about  6  inches  to 
the  mile ;  so  that  a  square  foot  on  the  map  represents  about 
four  square  miles  of  the  earth's  surface.  As  the  maps  are  made 
for  navigators,  but  little  of  the  land  is  shown,  but  that  little  is 
given  with  great  minuteness ;  and  hill  and  valley,  woods  and 
fields,  roads,  railroads,  and  water  ways  down  to  the  smallest 
creek, — all  find  place  here.  Then  too  every  light  house  with 
the  color  of  its  light,  every  buoy  with  its  color,  the  route  for  the 
safest  approach  to  land,  with  its  compass  direction  and  the 
variation  of  the  compass,  soundings  at  innumerable  points, 
together  with  the  substance  and  character  of  the  bottom, — all 
can  here  be  seen  at  a  glance  and  be  much  better  and  more 
easily  understood  than  from  a  lengthy  description  in  words. 
A  map  of  the  entire  United  States  on  such  a  scale  (yir^Trv) 
would  require  four  hundred  thousand  sheets,  which  in  atlas 
form,  would  constitute  a  library  of  itself,  of  eight  thousand 
large  folio  volumes. 

Though  scientifically  unimportant,  the  plane  survey  of  the 
public  lands  of  the  United  States  has  been  of  great  commercial 
utility.  In  1802  Colonel  Mansfield,  then  surveyor  of  the 
Northwest  Territory,  proposed  a  plan  for  the  carrying  out  of 
this  work,  which  plan  with  small  variations,  has  been  in  use 
ever  since.  The  public  domain  is  divided  into  land  districts, 
over  each  of  which  there  is  placed  a  surveyor-general,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  superintend  the  survey  thereof.  In  each  district 
a  meridian  and  an  east  and  west  line  are  carefully  run,  and 
their  positions  determined  astronomically,  though  not  with 
the  utmost  accuracy.  With  this  as  a  foundation,  the  whole 
district  is  divided  into  townships,  six  miles  square,  a  con- 
ventional allowance  being  made  for  the  true  direction  of  the 
meridians.  Smaller  divisions,  called  sections,  quarter-sections, 
etc.,  are  surveyed  as  the  land  is  put  on  the  market.  Large 
portions  of  the  country  have  been  thus  surveyed,  with  varying 
degrees  of  accuracy.  "  Unfortunately,  one  vicious  principle 
was  early  incorporated  in  the  plan,  viz.,  that  the  work  should 
be  given  out  under  contract,  not  to  the  lowest  bidder  but  to'' 


Geographical  Work  of  the  National  Government.     131 

"  preferred  bidders,  a  method  which  resulted  in  great  extrava- 
gance on  the  one  hand,  and  such  a  deterioration  of  the  work 
upon  the  other  that  it  iinally  subserved  but  the  single  purpose 
of  parceling  the  lands.  Since  the  organization  of  these 
surveys  up  to  the  present  time  (1884)  |35,000,000  have  been 
expended  therefor,  and  it  will  always  be  a  matter  of  profound 
regret  to  scholars  and  statesmen  that  the  grand  purposes  for 
which  the  surveys  were  primarily  organized  were  not  fully 
realized."  (J.  W.  Powell,  On  the  Organization  of  Scientific 
Work  of  the  General  Government,  Pt.  2,  p.  1072.) 

Previous  to  the  organization  of  the  Geological  Survey  in 
1879,  the  work  of  surveying  the  country  was  distributed 
among  various  bodies  of  experts.  Thus  to  the  Lake  Survey, 
was  entrusted  the  work  of  surveying  the  shores  of  the  Great 
Lakes  and  connecting  Lake  Michigan  with  the  head  of  Lake 
Erie.  To  the  Engineers'  Corps  of  the  army  was  given  the 
work  of  surveying  several  small  areas  of  land,  the  course  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  other  places  for  the  improvement  of 
rivers.  The  early  explorations  of  the  west  were  made  by 
parties  sent  out  by  the  War  Department.  These  parties 
made  maps  of  the  country  seen,  but  they  were  necessarily 
crude ;  and  they  are  now  of  but  little  use.  Some  of  the  older 
States  undertook  to  have  their  own  domairis  surveyed,  among 
which  were  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  North  Carolina.  Then  too 
the  surveys  necessary  for  the  great  railroads  increased  very 
considerably  the  accurate  knowledge  of  the  topography  of  the 
country,  some  of  this  work  having  been  done  with  great  care. 

After  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  the  national  government 
entered  on  this  class  of  work  with  more  vigor  than  it  had 
hitherto  displayed,  and  the  work  was  prosecuted  in  several 
localities  at  the  same  time.  Under  Mr.  Clarence  King,  the 
fortieth  parallel  between  the  one  hundred  and  fourth  and  the 
one  hundred  and  twentieth  meridian  west  from  Greenwich 
was  surveyed,  including  a  strip  of  land  one  hundred  and  five 
miles  wide,  and  covering  in  all  an  area  of  87,000  square  miles. 


132  Ame^'ica:   Its  Geographical  History. 

Of  this  region  a  map  was  made,  representing  four  miles  to  the 
inch,  with  contour  lines  representing  vertical  differences  of 
three  hundred  feet. 

About  100,000  square  miles  of  country  in  Colorado,  New 
Mexico,  Wyoming,  Utah,  and  Idaho  were  surveyed  by  the 
Geological  and  Geographical  Survey  of  the  Territories,  under 
the  direction  of  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden.  Maps  of  this  survey 
were  also  issued,  of  the  same  scale  as  that  of  King,  but  with 
the  contour  lines  at  every  200  feet. 

"  The  Geographical  Surveys  west  of  the  One  Hundredth 
Meridian  "  were  placed  under  the  charge  of  Lieut.  George  M. 
Wheeler  of  the  Engineer  Corps  ;  and  several  hundred  thousand 
square  miles  in  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Nevada, 
California,  Oregon,  and  Idaho  were  surveyed  ;  but  on  so  small 
a  scale  and  by  such  inaccurate  methods  that  the  work  does  not 
at  all  meet  the  modern  requirements,  and  much  of  it  will  have 
to  be  done  over  again. 

In  Wyoming,  Utah,  and  Arizona,  about  60,000  square 
miles  were  surveyed  by  a  body  of  men  under  the  able  direction 
of  the  present  head  of  the  Geological  Survey,  of  which  a  map 
was  made  on  a  scale  of  four  miles  to  the  inch,  and  250  feet 
contours.  The  aggregate  cost  of  these  four  surveys  was  only 
$1,985,028.57, — less  t^an  is  now  expended  in  two  years  for 
the  operations  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  and  the 
Geological  Survey. 

Experience  however  showed  that  such  division  of  labor  was 
not  advantageous,  either  from  an  economical  point  of  view, 
or  as  regards  the  quality  of  the  work.  Accordingly  in  1879, 
after  mature  consideration,  all  these  various  surveys  were 
abolished,  and  the  entire  work  of  this  nature,  excepting  that  of 
the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  which  serves  a  different  pur- 
pose, and  proceeds  largely  on  different  methods,  was  united 
under  the  management  of  the  Geological  Survey ;  so  that  since 
then  all  such  work  has  been  carried  on  in  accordance  with  a 
unified  plan,  and  under  the  same  central  control. 


Geographical  Work  of  the  National  Government.      133 

"  For  convenience  of  administration,  but  controlled  by 
geologic  considerations,  the  area  of  the  United  States  is 
divided  into  seven  districts,  as  follows  : '' 

I.  District  of  the  North  Atlantic,  comprising  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connec- 
ticut, New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Mary- 
land, and  the  District  of  Columbia. 

II.  District  of  the  South  Atlantic,  comprising  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama, 
Tennessee,  Kentucky,  and  West  Virginia. 

III.  District  of  the  North  Mississippi,  comprising  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Dakota, 
Nebraska,  Kansas,  Iowa,  and  Missouri. 

IV.  District  of  the  South  Mississippi,  comprising  Indian 
Territory,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas. 

V.  District  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  comprising  Montana, 
Wyoming,  Colorado,  part  of  Utah,  New  Mexico,  and  part  of 
Arizona. 

VI.  District  of  the  Great  Basin,  comprising  parts  of  Wash- 
ington Territory,  Oregon,  California,  Utah,  Arizona,  Nevada, 
and  Idaho. 

VII.  District  of  the  Pacific,  comprising  part  of  Washing- 
ton Territory,  part  of  Oregon,  and  the  greater  portion  of 
California.^ 

The  entire  work  of  the  survey  is  divided  into  four  main 
classes,  topographic,  geologic,  paleontologic,  and  chemic, — to 
use  the  expressions  of  the  official  reports.  Though  the  whole 
is  subordinated  to  the  geological  work,  from  which  the  organi- 
zation takes  its  name,  the  topographical  work  must  precede 
the  rest  as  a  foundation  on  which  all  that  follows  is  built ;  for 
it  is  evident  that  you  must  have  an  idea  of  the  lay  of  the  land 
before  you  can  represent  the  geological  formations  of  the 
country  in  their  true  relations.  With  the  great  extent  of  the 
country,  it  is  manifest  that  it  is  not  possible  to  be  surveying 

*  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Geolog.  Survey,  Introduction. 


134  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

in  all  parts  of  it  at  the  same  time,  and  the  work  was  accord- 
ingly commenced  in  those  regions  where  valuable  deposits  of 
minerals  enforced  the  demand  for  a  knowledge  of  the  same. 
Originally  the  survey  was  intended  only  for  the  public 
domain  of  the  general  government;  but  since  1871  Congress 
has  authorized  work  to  be  done  in  the  older  states  as  well ; 
and  in  the  case  of  Massachusetts  and  other  states  which  were 
interested  in  having  an  exceptionally  good  survey  of  their 
territory,  the  work  has  been  done  under  the  direction  of  the 
Geological  Survey,  the  interested  state,  however,  paying  the 
extra  cost  thereby  incurred.  On  the  topographical  maps 
which  are  made  from  these  surveys,  are  represented  the 
natural  characteristics  of  the  country,  "  its  mountains,  hills, 
valleys,  streams,  bodies  of  water,  etc., — together  with  certain 
cultural  features,  such  as  highways,  boundary  lines  of  town- 
ships, counties,  states,  etc.^'  ^ 

When  this  work  is  done  the  maps  are  given  into  the  hands 
of  the  geologists,  for  their  additions.  Major  Powell  informs 
us  that  "  In  later  years  topographic  methods  and  plans  of 
mapping  have  been  changed,  and  these  changes  are  radical, 
and  are  due  to  the  influence  of  geologists,  who  have  demanded 
better  maps  than  those  of  the  old  military  engineers.'^  ^  With 
these  improved  maps  the  geologists  wander  hither  and  thither 
over  the  ground,  correcting  the  topography  where  necessary, 
and  noting  the  geological  formations  to  a  very  minute  degree, 
establishing  "millions  of  points"  where  the  geodetic  survey 
establishes  but  hundreds. 

There  are  also  subdivisions  of  the  work  of  geology,  which 
are  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  ranked  practically  as 
separate  sciences ;  this  is  especially  true  of  paleontology,  the 
"  science  which  treats  of  the  structure,  affinities,  classification, 
and  distribution  in  time  of  the  forms  of  plant  and  animal  life 
embedded  in  the  rocks  of  the  earth's  crust."  ^    And  for  this 


^  Testimony  before  the  Joint  Commission,  p.  184. 

2  Ibid.,  168.  8  Encyc.  Brit.,  X,  319. 


Geographical  Work  of  the  National  Government.     135 

work  there  is  a  division  of  the  Geological  Survey ;  as  there  is 
also  for  the  study  of  the  chemical  properties  of  the  rocks  and 
minerals  which  form  our  portion  of  the  earth's  surface. 

In  the  work  of  triangulation  which  forms  the  basis  of  the 
topographical  survey  of  this  as  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic 
Survey,  the  margin  of  error  here  allowed  is  greater,  and 
accordingly,  the  extreme  delicacy  of  work  that  is  so  character- 
istic of  the  former  is  not  here  required.  The  difference  in 
the  degree  of  accuracy  reached  by  the  two  organizations  is  thus 
summarized  by  Major  Powell :  "  Just  what  degree  of  refine- 
ment is  actually  attained  by  the  two  organizations  can  be  set 
forth  better  by  a  few  illustrations.  In  the  Coast  Survey  work 
the  probable  error  in  the  length  of  the  Kent  Island  base,  in 
Chesapeake  Bay,  is  ^^^V^TT^th  part  of  its  length  ;  of  the  Peach 
Tree  base,  near  Atlanta,  ^^xV^xrth  part  of  its  length.  In  the 
Geological  Survey  the  probable  error  of  the  Wingate  base  is 
T^TnTTTiyth  part  of  its  length  ;  of  the  Malvern  base  in  Arkansas, 
TTFiTTyirth  part  of  its  length.  Errors  in  triangulation  are 
defined  in  terms  of  arc,  and  relate  to  the  closure  of  triangles. 
The  errors  in  the  triangulation  of  the  Coast  Survey  from  the 
Peach  Tree  base  are  not  more  than  half  a  second  for  each 
angle.  In  the  Geological  Survey  the  average  error  in  the 
closure  of  triangles,  in  all  of  that  work  in  the  Appalachian 
Mountains,  executed  in  1882,  1883,  and  1884,  is  less  than  8 
seconds  for  each  angle.  The  probable  average  error  of  lengths 
of  lines  measured  by  the  Coast  Survey  from  the  Kent  Island 
base  is  stated  to  be  about  one-half  an  inch  in  a  mile.  The 
probable  average  error  in  the  lines  measured  by  the  Geological 
Survey  in  the  triangulation  in  the  Southern  Appalachians  is 
about  6  inches  to  the  mile,  i.  e.,  in  a  line  20  miles  in  length 
the  error  would  probably  be  10  feet.''  ^ 

Exclusive  of  Alaska,  the  United  States  cover  an  area  of 
about  3,000,000  square  miles,  of  which  territory  more  than 
900,000  square  miles  have  already  been  surveyed.     Of  this 

1  J.  W.  Powell,  Testimony  J  etc.,  205-6. 


136  America:   Its  Geographical  History, 

area  there  were  surveyed  before  the  present  organization 
384,890  square  miles,  to  which  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey 
added  by  the  end  of  June,  1891,  392,584  square  miles  ;  and 
a  letter  of  Nov.  3d,  1889,  from  Mr.  Henry  Gannett  says: 
^^The  area  surveyed  by  the  Geological  Survey  up  to  the 
present  date  is  approximately  537,000  square  miles."  This 
work  produces  vast  results  outside  of  the  field  of  geography, 
and  hence  outside  the  range  of  our  discussion  ;  but  we  cannot 
refrain  from  calling  attention  to  the  scientific  value  of  the 
products  of  this  branch  of  our  governmental  activity.  For 
instance,  mineral  deposits  of  great  extent  and  untold  worth 
have  been  thereby  brought  to  light ;  in  the  chemical  depart- 
ment, the  difference  between  iron  and  steel,  which  so  long 
eluded  the  keen  eye  of  the  investigator,  was  discovered ;  and 
even  the  occult  processes,  by  which  Nature  forms  her  mineral 
deposits,  have  been  largely  revealed. 

One  of  the  most  important  fields  of  activity  of  this  bureau 
is  that  of  publishing  the  results  of  its  extensive  and  multi- 
farious labors.  According  to  the  statute  approved  March  3, 
1879,  "The  publications  of  the  Geological  Survey  shall 
consist  of  the  annual  report  of  operations,  geological  and 
economic  maps  illustrating  the  resources  and  classification  of 
the  lands,  and  reports  upon  general  and  economic  geology  and 
and  paleontology."  ^  Of  these  publications,  those  which  interest 
us  especially  are  the  maps ;  and  in  this  direction,  our  govern- 
ment stands  second  to  none  in  the  beauty  and  practicability 
of  its  cartographical  productions.  Many  experiments  have 
been  tried  as  to  the  best  methods  of  engraving  and  printing 
these  maps,  which  have  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  a 
system  at  once  artistic,  practical  and  economical.  The  topog- 
raphical maps  are  constructed  on  "  varying  scales,  but 
chiefly  the  three  following,  viz. :  one  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousandth,  or  about  four  miles  to  the  inch  ;  one  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  thousandth,  or  about  two  miles  to  the  inch ; " 

^Powell,  Testimony,  etc.,  674. 


Geographical  Work  of  the  National  Government.     137 

'^  one  sixty-two  thousand  five  hundredth,  or  about  one  mile  to 
the  inch ; "  ^  and  some  are  constructed  on  larger  scales,  when 
the  nature  of  the  territory  requires  it.  Most  of  the  territory 
will  be  represented  on  the  scale  first  mentioned,  on  sheets  20 
by  16 J  inches,  so  that  each  sheet  will  represent  one  degree  of 
latitude  and  longitude.  In  December,  1884,  Major  Powell 
calculated  that  it  would  take  about  twenty-four  years  to  finish 
the  work,  and  the  map  of  the  entire  country,  when  complete, 
would  require  about  2,600  sheets.  A  member  of  the  survey- 
ing corps  told  me  that  since  that  statement  of  the  head  of  the 
Survey,  the  plan  of  work  had  been  somewhat  changed,  and 
the  methods  refined,  so  that  although  the  appropriations  of 
the  last  few  years  have  been  enormous,  thus  greatly  facilitating 
the  work,  and  rendering  greater  speed  possible,  that  the  work 
will  doubtless  require  still  twenty  years  to  come  for  its 
completion. 

The  uses  of  these  topographical  maps  are  various ;  but  one 
chief  use  will  scarcely  occur  to  those  living  on  the  Atlantic 
seaboard,  namely,  the  solution  of  the  great  problem  of  irri- 
gating our  almost  limitless  western  plains.  We  are  told  that 
almost  two-fifths  of  the  soil  of  the  United  States  requires 
irrigation  before  it  will  produce  crops ;  and  furthermore,  that 
these  maps  convey  the  information  on  which  can  be  based  the 
necessary  plans  for  the  construction  of  the  necessary  works  of 
irrigation.  It  is  somewhat  surprising  to  hear  that  quite  a 
number  of  towns  in  the  west  have  been  moved  twice  or  oftener 
on  account  of  error  in  selecting  their  sites ;  and  that  this  might 
have  been  obviated  by  acquaintance  with  such  information 
as  these  maps  with  their  contour  lines  contain.  Of  equal  im- 
portance is  perhaps  the  fact  that  thereby  the  only  feasible 
method  of  obviating  the  destructive  floods  of  the  lower  Mis- 
sissippi has  been  discovered ;  at  least,  such  is  the  claim  of 
Major  Powell.  He  believes  that  the  survey  has  revealed  a 
method  by  which  the  waters  sent  down  the  Missouri  and  its 

1  Ihid.,  205. 


138  America:  Its  Geographical  History. 

branches  from  the  melting  snows  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
can  be  collected  and  stored  up  for  the  irrigation  of  a  vast 
territory  now  arid,  by  want  of  water  ;  and  that  the  same  pro- 
cess would  relieve  the  lower  Mississippi  of  its  over-abundance 
of  water  and  render  this  great  flood-plain  "one  of  the  most 
fertile  districts  in  the  United  States,  on  which  corn,  cotton 
and  sugar  could  be  produced  in  vast  quantities/' 

The  other  publications  of  the  Geological  Survey  are 
doubtless  in  their  several  fields  as  important  as  those  just 
mentioned ;  but  they  do  not  belong  to  our  theme.  Enough 
has  been  said,  it  is  hoped,  to  show  that  in  its  geog;raphical 
work,  our  government  is  fully  abreast  of  the  best  perform- 
ances of  the  times;  Major  Powell  goes  even  further  and 
affirms  that  "  the  practice  of  European  governments  is  steadily 
following  the  precedents  established  in  the  United  States/' 


SUPPLEMENT. 


It  has  been  generally  assumed  by  modern  historians  that 
the  Mississippi  river  was  the  stream  known  among  the  Span- 
iards by  the  name  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo,  or  some  modification 
thereof.  Some  writers  add  that  it  was  discovered  and  so 
named  in  1519  by  Alonso  Alvarez  Pineda,  who  was  sent  out 
that  year  on  an  exploring  expedition  by  Francisco  de  Garay, 
Governor  of  Jamaica.  Accordingly,  it  was  a  matter  of  great 
surprise  to  me,  as  the  idea  gradually  assumed  form,  in  ex- 
amining the  Kohl  Collection  of  maps,  in  the  State  Depart- 
ment at  Washington,  that  the  usual  interpretation  was  at  least 
open  to  doubt.  Hence  the  subject  seemed  worthy  of  a  more 
careful  consideration  than  has  heretofore  been  given  it ;  and 
an  Examination  of  many  maps  and  writings  leads  me  to  the 
conviction  that  in  all  probability  the  Mississippi  was  not  dis- 
covered by  Pineda,  and  that  the  early  Spaniards  did  not 
know  that  river  under  the  name  of  Espiritu  Santo ;  but  that, 
on  the  contrary,  they  applied  this  name  generally,  if  not  ex- 
clusively, to  the  stream  which  now  bears,  in  its  different  parts, 
the  names  Coosa,  Alibama,  and  Mobile. 

That  the  old  idea  still  obtains  currency  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  the  very  latest  work  on  American  history,  which  treats  of 
the  matter,  namely,  that  by  Professor  John  Fiske,  The  Dis- 
covery of  America,  gives  it  place  in  the  following  passage : — 
"  Pineda  then  turned  back,  and  after  a  while  entered  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  which  he  called  the  Rio  de  Santo 
Espiritu.  .  .  .     How  far  he  ascended  it  is  not  clear,  but  he" 

139 


140  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

"spent  six  weeks  upon  itp  waters  and  its  banks,  trading  with 
the  Indians,  who  seemed  friendly  and  doubtless  labored  under 
the  usual  first  impression  as  to  the  supernatural  character  of 
the  white  men."  [II,  487.]  Mr.  Winsor,  in  his  recent  work 
on  Columbus,  is  not  so  positive  in  his  statement  as  Professor 
Fiske,  but  he  does  not  express  any  doubt  on  the  subject.  He 
speaks  in  reference  to  Pineda's  and  other  early  expeditions  to 
the  northern  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  as  follows  : — "  In 
1519  Pineda  had  made  the  circuit  of  the  northern  shores  of 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  at  the  river  Panuco  he  had  been 
challenged  by  Cortes  as  trenching  on  his  government.  Turn- 
ing again  eastward,  Pineda  found  the  mouth  of  the  river 
named  by  him  Del  Espiritu  Santo,  which  passes  with  many 
modern  students  as  the  first  indication  in  history  of  the  great 
Mississippi,  while  others  trace  the  first  signs  of  that  river  to 
Cabe9a  de  Vaca  in  1528,  or  to  the  passage  higher  up  its  cur- 
rent by  De  Soto  in  1541.  Believing  it  at  first  the  long- 
looked-for  strait  to  pass  to  the  Indies,  Pineda  entered  it,  only 
to  be  satisfied  that  it  must  gather  the  watershed  of  a  continent, 
which  in  this  part  was  now  named  Amichel.''  [p.  560.]  In 
his  Narrative  and  Critical  History,  however,  Mr.  Winsor 
admits  that  the  subject  is  at  least  open  to  doubt ;  for  in  a  note 
to  page  292,  volume  II,  he  uses  the  expression,  "  even  if  we 
do  not  accept  the  view  that  Alonzo  de  Pineda  found  its  mouth 
in  1519  and  called  it  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo."  But  his  doubt 
is  rather  as  to  whom  the  first  discovery  of  the  Mississipi  is  to 
be  attributed  than  as  to  the  identity  of  the  Rio  del  Espiritu 
Santo  with  the  Mississippi.  That  Mr.  Winsor  is  not  opposed 
to  the  idea  of  accepting  them  as  identical  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  he  accepted  and  printed  statements  to  that  effect  in  the 
contribution  of  Mr.  John  Gilmary  Shea  to  his  Narrative  and 
Critical  History.  In  volume  second  of  that  work  we  find  the 
statement  of  their  identity  made  at  least  four  times  by  that 
author,  namely,  twice  on  page  237,  and  once  each  on  pages 
247  and  282.  One  quotation  will  be  sufficient  to  show  that 
Mr.  Shea  did  not  share  the  editor's  doubt  as  to  the  discovery 


Supplement.  141 

of  Pineda ;  for  in  reference  to  it  he  makes  the  assertion  that 
he  "discovered  a  river  of  very  great  volume,  evidently  the 
Mississippi.'^  [p.  237.]  In  his  earlier  work  on  the  Dis- 
covery and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  Mr.  Shea 
goes  further,  and  actually  substitutes  the  name  Mississippi  for 
Espiritu  Santo  where  the  latter  is  used  by  the  Spanish  writers. 
On  page  xi  of  the  Introduction,  referring  to  the  expedition  of 
De  Soto,  he  says : — "  The  Mississippi,  under  the  name  of 
Espiritu  Santo,  was  not  unknown  to  him  [i.  e.  De  Soto] ; 
for  .  .  .  he  sent  Maldonado  back  to  Havana,  with  orders  to 
meet  him  in  six  months  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi." 
As  the  name  Mississippi  seems  never  to  have  been  used  by 
the  Spaniards  until  after  its  adoption  by  the  French,  the  order 
of  De  Soto  could  not  possibly  have  read  thus. 

In  the  last  revision  of  the  great  work  of  George  Bancroft, 
I  do  not  find  that  he  says  just  in  so  many  words  that  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  are  one  and  the 
same  river,  but  he  does  so  by  implication.  For,  in  describing 
the  territory  known  as  the  Quivira  of  Coronado,  which  lay 
between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  he  tells  us, 
"  It  was  well  watered  by  brooks  and  rivers,  which  flowed  to 
what  the  Spaniards  then  called  the  Espiritu  Santo."  [I.  36.] 

To  Mr.  B.  F.  French,  we  owe  the  publication  of  many 
valuable  documents  relating  to  the  exploration  and  settlement 
of  Louisiana,  who  has  even  taken  the  trouble  to  print  English 
translations  of  some  of  the  valuable  old  French  and  Spanish 
papers.  In  one  of  his  foot-notes  there  occurs  this  statement : 
"  Alonzo  Alvarez  de  Pineda  was  ordered  by  Francisco  de 
Garay,  Governor  of  Jamaica,  in  1519,  to  explore  the  coast  of 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  in  sailing  along  the  coast  he  discov- 
ered the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi."    \^CoU.j  2d  Ser.,  p.  242.] 

A  third  of  a  century  ago,  the  greatest  authority  on  American 
historical  geography  was  unquestionably  Dr.  J.  G.  Kohl,  to 
whose  industry  and  talent  we  owe  the  valuable  collection  of 
historical  maps  in  the  Department  of  State  at  Washington, 
and  who  in  1860  published  fac-similes  of  the   two  famous 


142  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

Spanish  maps  of  1527  and  1529  now  preserved  at  Weimar. 
Accompanying  the  fac-si miles  is  an  elaborate  dissertation  on 
the  contents  and  history  of  the  maps.  On  several  occasions 
he  gives  voice  to  his  belief  in  the  identity  of  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Espiritu  Santo,  but  on  none  more  unequivocally  than 
in  the  following  passage,  translated  from  page  79  : — "And  it 
is  also  without  doubt,  that  all  following  Spanish  geographers 
and  historians  applied  the  name  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo, 
introduced  by  Pineda,  to  the  E,io  Grande  de  Florida,  discov- 
ered in  the  interior  by  De  Soto  in  1542  {sic'],  which  is  our 
Mississippi.'' 

Although  the  consensus  of  opinion  among  modern  his- 
torians is,  as  we  have  seen,  in  favor  of  considering  the  E-io  del 
Espiritu  Santo  identical  with  the  Mississippi,  it  is  true  that 
Mr.  Winsor  has  in  one  place  expressed  a  doubt,  at  least  as  to 
the  identity  of  the  Bay  of  Espiritu  Santo,  where  he  says, 
"  Beaujeu  steered,  as  he  thought,  for  the  Baye  du  St.  Esprit 
(Mobile  Bay  [?])''  [IV.  237.]  Mr.  Shea  in  his  work  on  the 
Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  referring  to  the  same 
expedition,  that  of  La  Salle  trying  to  reach  the  Mississippi  by 
sea,  makes  another  guess  as  to  the  bay  then  sought  under  the 
name  of  Espiritu  Santo,  and  thinks  it  the  "  Appalachee.'' 
[p.  190.] 

Both  Professor  Fiske  and  Mr.  Winsor  make  the  statement 
that  Pineda  named  the  river  he  discovered  the  Rio  del  Espiritu 
Santo ;  and  the  latter  even  refers  to  his  authority  for  the 
description  in  which  the  statement  occurs,  namely,  Navarrete, 
III.  64.  Professor  Fiske,  however,  does  not  here  indulge  his 
readers'  curiosity  as  to  his  sources  of  information.  What 
shall  we  say,  then,  to  the  fact  that  Navarrete,  in  his  descrip- 
tion of  the  expedition  of  Pineda,  entirely  fails  to  name  the 
Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo,  or  give  any  other  name  to  the  river  at 
whose  mouth  Pineda  made  so  long  a  stay.  He  merely  de- 
scribes it  as  "a  river  of  very  great  volume,"  then  proceeds 
with  the  history  of  the  expedition.  As  there  are  several 
other  points  which  are  of  value  in  determining  whether  or  not 


Supplement.  143 

Pineda  was  on  the  Mississippi,  a  literal  translation  of  the 
passage  that  contains  the  pith  of  the  matter  in  question  is 
here  given. 

The  expedition,  having  gone  east  and  west,  and  taken  posses- 
sion of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  King,  "  they  turned  back 
and  entered  a  river  of  very  great  volume,  at  the  mouth  of 
which  there  was  a  large  town  where  they  stayed  more  than 
forty  days,  repairing  the  ships  and  trading  with  the  natives, 
in  the  most  friendly  and  amicable  manner.  They  travelled 
six  leagues  up  the  river  and  saw  forty  towns  on  the  shores. 
This  was  called  the  province  of  Amichel :  good  land,  quiet, 
healthy,  well  stored  with  provisions  and  fruits :  its  inhabitants 
wore  many  ornaments  of  gold  in  their  noses  and  ears." 
[Navarrete,  III.  65.]  It  will  be  observed  that  a  river  is  here 
mentioned  and  described,  but  not  named.  The  description 
furnishes,  moreover,  an  argument  tending  to  show  that  this 
river  was  not  the  Mississippi. 

As  to  the  river  being  "  of  very  great  volume,"  that  is  a 
characteristic  too  general  to  fix  the  river  where  Pineda  made 
his  long  halt ;  for  we  must  remember  that  the  Spaniards  of 
that  day  were  not  familiar  with  such  great  rivers  as  the 
Amazon  and  the  Mississippi ;  and  accordingly  used  such  ex- 
pressions as  the  above,  in  describing  much  smaller  streams. 
For  instance,  Cortes  called  the  Panuco,  a  "  great  river,"  the 
very  term  that  was  applied  to  the  Mississippi  when  its  true 
greatness  was  known,  although  we  should  consider  the  Panuco 
but  a  small  stream.  However,  the  second  statement,  namely, 
that  at  the  mouth  of  this  river  there  was  a  ^'  large  town  " 
[un  gran  pueblo],  should  be  of  itself  sufficient  evidence 
that  the  river  was  not  the  Mississippi ;  for  all  the  other 
accounts  from  the  early  period  go  to  show  that  the  land  about 
the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi  was  practically  uninhabited, 
one  may  say,  uninhabitable.  Furthermore,  Pineda  is  said  to 
have  ascended  the  river  for  six  leagues,^  and  found  forty 


^  Professor  Fiske,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  a  number  of  authorities  give 
this  limit,  says: — "How  far  he  ascended  it  is  not  clear." 


144  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

pueblos  on  its  banks.  Twenty-four  years  later  the  remnant  of 
De  Soto's  expedition  apparently  found  no  towns  on  the  lower 
Mississippi.  At  least  Biedma  speaks  of  none,  and  says  the 
Indians  followed  them  from  the  place  of  the  last  victory 
"  almost  until  we  arrived  at  the  sea,  so  that  we  tarried  nine- 
teen days  on  the  journey.^'  [Biedma's  Relacion,  in  Doc.  Ined., 
III.  p.  440.]  When  in  1699  the  French  under  d'Iberville 
sought  a  place  for  a  settlement  on  the  Mississippi,  they  were 
unable  to  enter  the  mouth  in  their  ships,  and  had  to  provide 
small  boats  for  the  ascent  of  the  river.  They  had  to  travel 
for  several  days  before  finding  the  first  Indian  settlement, 
instead  of  seeing  forty  towns  within  six  leagues ;  and,  more- 
over, they  could  find  no  place  fit  for  a  settlement  of  their  own 
nearer  the  mouth  of  the  river  than  the  site  chosen  for  the  city 
of  New  Orleans,  which  is  about  100  miles  from  the  mouth. 
Then  too  the  description  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  health- 
fulness  of  the  climate,  and  the  riches  of  the  inhabitants,  points 
with  much  greater  probability  to  another  region  than  to  the 
one  about  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  which  was  found  by 
later  explorers  to  be  swampy  and  unattractive.  From  these 
considerations  it  will  be  seen  how  very  small  is  the  basis  on 
which  modern  historians  have  founded  their  conjecture  as  to 
the  first  discovery  of  the  Mississippi. 

We  are  told  by  Mr.  Winsor  that  "  at  the  river  Panuco," 
Pineda  "  had  been  challenged  by  Cortes  as  trenching  on  his 
government."  Now  it  so  happens  that  Cortes  himself  wrote 
a  long  letter  to  the  king,  during  this  very  year,  1519,  in 
which  he  gives  a  detailed  description  of  this  visit,  without, 
however,  naming  the  leader  of  the  expedition.  But  as  he  calls 
him  the  captain  of  Francisco  de  Garay,  and  as  we  find  no 
other  meeting  of  Cortes  with  a  more  important  subject  of 
Garay's  during  that  year,  there  can  be  little  doubt  as  to  the 
identity  of  the  expedition  described  by  Cortes  and  that  of  our 
modern  historians,  to  which  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi 
under  the  name  of  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  is  ascribed.  Some 
of  Cortes'  letters  are  printed  in  the  original  in  Barcia,  Histo- 


Supplement.  145 

riadores  Primitivos ;  and  an  English  translation  is  given  by 
George  Fulsom,  published  in  New  York  in  1843 ;  so  that  the 
material  is  accessible  to  the  public.  Instead  of  meeting  at 
Panuco,  as  Mr.  Winsor  says,  the  interview  between  Cortes 
and  these  explorers  of  Garay  took  place  at  Vera  Cruz, 
according  to  Cortes'  own  account,  who  may  be  supposed  to 
have  known.  At  the  *'*  City  of  Cempoal,"  four  leagues  from 
Vera  Cruz,  Cortes  heard  of  the  arrival  of  the  ships  of  Garay 
in  the  harbor  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  returned  hither  for  the  pur- 
pose of  learning  their  mission.  He  di^  not  see  Pineda,  or 
whoever  was  the  captain  of  the  fleet ;  but  his  first  interview 
was  with  a  notary  and  two  witnesses,  who  came  in  Garay's 
name  to  demand  a  division  of  the  territory.  By  strategy, 
Cortes  later  made  prisoners  of  four  others  from  the  fleet,  two 
cross-bowmen  and  two  musketeers ;  which  fact  being  observed 
from  the  vessels  of  Garay  they  put  to  sea  at  once.  These  men 
told  Cortes,  as  he  relates  to  the  king,  that  this  expedition  had 
been  sent  out  by  Francisco  de  Garay,  Governor  of  the  Island 
of  Jamaica,  and  had  come  for  purposes  of  discovery  ;  that  they 
had  arrived  at  a  river,  ''  thirty  leagues  along  the  coast,  after 
passing  Almeria,''  where  they  had  traded  with  the  Indians, 
and  had  bartered  for  3000  "  Castellanos ''  of  gold;  that  they 
had  not  landed,  but  had  seen  certain  villages  on  the  shore; 
that  the  lord  of  this  river  was — PANUCO ! 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the  rivers  and  regions  of 
America  often  received  from  the  Spaniards  the  names  of  the 
chiefs  whom  they  found  in  power  there.  That  Cortes  so 
applied  the  name  of  the  chief  in  this  case  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  in  paragraph  LV  of  the  same  letter,  when  referring  again 
to  this  expedition,  he  speaks  of  the  "  Rio  de  Panuco."  In 
paragraph  XLVii  he  says  further  that  the  expedition  returned 
to  Panuco,  after  having  been  at  Vera  Cruz.  Letter  IV, 
written  October  15th,  1524,  makes  further  mention  of  this 
river  as  follows : — '^  I  have  already  given  your  Majesty  an 
account  of  the  river  Panuco,  fifty  or  sixty  leagues  distant 
from  Vera  Cruz  along  the  coast,  to  which  the  ships  of  Fran-  " 
10 


146  Ame^nca:   Its  Geographical  History. 

"  CISCO  de  Garay  had  made  several  visits,  when  they  met  with  a 
rude  reception  from  the  natives,  on  account  of  the  bad  manage- 
ment of  the  captains  in  trading  with  them.  Subsequently, 
when  I  saw  that  there  was  a  deficiency  of  harbors  along  the 
whole  coast  of  the  North  Sea,  and  no  one  equal  to  that 
afforded  by  the  river  in  question, — I  determined  to  send  there/^ 
Garay  himself  actually  came  afterwards  to  Mexico,  and  offered 
to  arrange  with  Cortes,  by  a  marriage  connection,  the  division 
of  that  part  of  the  country.  In  a  later  paragraph  of  the  same 
letter,  Cortes  remarks : — "  Nothing  seems  to  remain  but  to 
explore  the  coast  lying  between  the  river  Panuco  and  Florida, 
the  latter  being  the  country  discovered  by  the  Adelantado 
Juan  Ponce  de  Leon ;  and  then  the  northern  coast  of  Florida 
as  far'  as  the  Baccallaos."  Now  as  five  years  had  passed  since 
Pineda's  voyage,  on  which  he  is  said  to  have  discovered  the 
Kio  del  Espiritu  Santo,  which  is  believed  by  so  many  to  have 
been  the  Mississippi,  and  as  Cortes  was  now  in  friendly 
relations  with  Garay,  in  whose  employ  Pineda  had  been  ;  if 
that  discovery  had  been  the  Mississippi,  with  all  the  accom- 
paniments of  fertility,  fine  climate,  and  wealth,  with  which 
modern  writers  adorn  it ;  then  why  did  Garay  so  much  desire 
possession  of  the  region  of  the  Panuco  ?  why  had  he  taken  so 
much  pains  to  conciliate  Cortes  for  it,  when  he  might  have 
gone  to  the  Mississippi  in  perfect  freedom,  even  more  so 
than  the  French  did  nearly  two  centuries  later,  when  the 
Spaniards  were  in  possession  of  all  Mexico  ?  why  did  Cortes 
say  that  the  coast  between  the  river  Panuco  and  Florida  had 
not  been  explored,  if  Pineda  had  been  all  along  it  and  had 
ascended  the  Mississippi  an  indefinite  distance,  as  Professor 
Fiske  would  have  us  believe  ?  If  the  Mississippi  were  found 
and  ascended  on  that  occasion,  why  is  there  no  mention  what- 
ever of  it,  while  the  Panuco  is  so  frequently  the  subject  of 
Cortes'  theme,  and  the  ground  of  dispute  with  Garay  ? 

There  is  preserved  to  us  a  proclamation  of  the  Spanish  king, 
dated  1521,  which  recites  the  facts  of  the  expedition  of  1519, 
the  meeting  with  Cortes,  etc.,  and  is  published  in  volume  II. 


Supplement,  147 

of  the  Colleecionde  Doeu7nentos  In6ditos^  .  .  .  del  Real  Archivo 
de  Indias,  Madrid,  1864.  This  informs  us  that  more  than 
three  hundred  leagues  of  the  coast  had  been  explored,  after 
which  they  turned  and  entered  a  river,  which  was  very  large 
and  of  great  volume,  at  whose  entrance  there  was  a  great 
pueblo ;  that  they  remained  here  more  than  forty  days,  repair- 
ing their  ships,  and  trading  with  the  natives;  furthermore, 
that  the  ships  went  up  the  said  river  six  leagues,  and  found 
forty  villages  on  either  bank ;  and,  to  clinch  the  matter,  and 
prove  the  identity  of  this  river  with  that  mentioned  by  our 
modern  historians,  it  is  also  recited  that  this  province  is  called 
Amichel.  [p.  560.]  We  are  further  informed  that  it  was  a 
good  land,  peaceful  and  healthy,  with  plenty  of  provisions  and 
fruits,  and  other  things  of  commerce;  that  there  was  fine  gold, 
and  that  the  inhabitants  wore  many  ornaments  of  gold  in  their 
noses,  ears,  and  on  other  parts  of  their  bodies.  Here  we  have 
evidently  the  original  authority  used  by  Navarrete  himself. 
We  possess  also  the  evidence  of  still  another  contemporary 
writer,  who  lived  in  Spain  from  1487  almost  all  the  time  until 
his  death  in  Granada  in  1526,  and  who  was  personally  ac- 
quainted with  many  of  the  leading  explorers  of  that  age.  It 
is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  we  refer  to  Peter  Martyr. 
He  goes  somewhat  into  detail  in  relating  this  matter,  and 
makes  Garay  himself  the  principal  actor,  although  we  know 
from  Cortes,  and  from  the  king's  proclamation  that  this  was 
not  the  case.  From  Lok's  translation,  we  extract  the  follow- 
ing passage,  as  containing  the  substance  of  the  whole  matter. 
"  Garaius  sayling  to  those  shores,  light  upon  a  riuer,  flowing 
into  the  Ocean  with  a  broade  mouth,  and  from  his  ships,  dis- 
cryed  many  villages  couercd  with  reedes.  A  king  whose  name 
is  Panuchus  possesseth  both  sides  of  that  ryuer,  from  which 
the  country  also  is  called  Panucha."  [Decade  Y.  Chap.  I.  p. 
176.]  In  the  VIII.  decade,  Chapter  II.  we  find  the  following 
account  of  the  River  Panuco.  "  Yppon  the  banks  of  this 
great  riuer  Panucus,  not  far  from  ye  mouth,  which  conueyeth 
the  waters  thereof  into  the  sea,  stoode  a  great  towne  of  the'* 


148  Amei^ca:   Its  Geographical  History. 

"same  name,  consisting  of  14000.  houses  of  stone  for  the  most 
part.  .  .  .  Shippes  of  burden  may  come  vppe  the  channell  of 
this  ryuer  for  many  myles  together.  The  people  of  this  Pro- 
vince overthrewe  Garaius  twice."     [p.  285.] 

We  have  the  evidence  of  still  another  to  prove  that  the 
great  river  discovered  by  Pineda  was  not  the  Mississippi,  who, 
though  not  a  contemporary,  had  such  unusual  facilities  for 
arriving  at  the  truth  of  what  he  wrote,  that  his  evidence 
on  any  such  point  is  of  value.  In  the  General  History  of 
America  by  Antonio  de  Herrera,  translated  by  Captain  John 
Stevens,  we  find  that  word  was  brought  Cortes  that  there 
"  w^as  a  Ship  come  from  the  Northward,  having  run  along  the 
Coast  of  Panuco,  and  bartered  for  Provisions,  and  about  the 
Value  of  three  thousand  Pieces  of  Eight  in  Gold  ;  that  the 
Men  did  not  like  that  Country ;  that  they  were  sent  by  Francis 
de  Garay,  from  Jamaica,  under  the  Command  of  Captain  Alonso 
Alvarez  Pineda."  ..."  The  seven  Men  belonging  to  Garay 
informed  him  [Cortes]  that  they  had  saiFd  far  along  the  Shore 
in  Quest  of  Florida,  and  touched  at  a  River,  and  Province 
whose  Lord  was  calPd  Panuco,  where  they  found  some  Gold, 
but  little,  and  bartered,  without  going  ashore,  for  the  Value 
of  three  thousand  Pieces  of  Eight,  and  a  considerable  Quantity 
of  Provisions."     [Book  IV.  chap.  I.  vol.  2,  p.  238-39.] 

This  account  of  Herrera  is  really  the  cement  which  serves  to 
bind  the  varying  contemporary  accounts  together ;  for  we  have 
the  expedition  described  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  that  it  must 
be  the  same  as  the  one  of  which  Cortes  speaks ;  and  we  have 
the  captain  named  whom  Garay  had  placed  at  its  head,  Pineda, 
the  man  who  is  said  to  have  discovered  the  Mississippi  this 
same  year ;  here  too  we  find  the  terms  "  coast  of  Panuco  "  and 
"  Panuco  the  lord  of  the  country  "  ;  we  have  the  interview  of 
Cortes  with  seven  men,  which  agrees  with  Cortes'  own  recital, 
of  the  notary  with  two  witnesses,  and  the  four  afterwards 
taken  prisoners ;  then  too  the  "  3000  Castellanos "  for  which 
they  traded  with  the  Indians  in  the  one  case  are  evidently  the 
same  as  the  "3000  Pieces  of  Eight"  for  which  they  bartered 


Supplement  149 

in  the  other.  The  name  "  Araichel  "  seems  to  be  known  only 
to  the  king,  of  all  the  contemporary  authorities;  but  if 
Amichel  were  other  than  the  region  about  the  Panuco,  or  in 
other  words,  if  it  were  the  country  of  the  Mississippi,  why  did 
Garay  never  seek  it,  instead  of  returning  so  many  times  to 
the  Panuco  ? 

Now  in  all  these  early  authorities  on  the  voyage  of  Pineda, 
I  entirely  fail  to  find  mentioned  his  discovery  and  naming  of 
the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo.  They  all  agree  as  to  one  fact, 
namely,  that  he  discovered  a  large  river ;  but  when  that  river 
is  named,  the  name  is  Panuco,  and  not  Espiritu  Santo.  It  is 
true  that  the  royal  proclamation  calls  the  territory  Amichel ; 
but  the  description  of  the  great  town  at  the  mouth,  and  other 
villages  on  its  banks,  with  the  fine  climate,  the  gold  of  the 
country,  etc.,  tallies  so  well  with  others^  description  of  the 
region  about  the  Panuco,  that  it  is  scarcely  to  be  supposed  that 
two  different  countries  were  meant. 

As  to  the  name  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo,  I  have  found  it 
mentioned  but  once  by  any  of  these  contemporary  authorities, 
namely,  by  Peter  Martyr,  in  the  VIII.  Decade,  Chapter  III. 
as  follows  :  — ^'  This  Alguazill  [an  intimate  of  Garay's]  addeth 
many  things,  not  to  be  omitted.  That  Panucus  and  the  riuer 
of  Palmes  breake  forth  into  the  Ocean  almost  with  the  like 
fall,  and  that  the  mariners  get  fresh  &  potable  waters  of  both, 
nine  myles  within  the  sea.  The  third  riuer,  which  our  men 
call  the  riuer  of  the  Holy  Ghost  [Espiritu  Santo]  neerer  to 
ye  country  of  Florida,  hath  a  more  streight  &  narrowe  chan- 
nell,  yet  very  rich  &  fruitfull  countryes  lying  round  about  it, 
&  well  replenished  with  people.^^  One  would  scarcely  inter- 
pret this  description  as  showing  the  first  indication  of  the  great 
Mississippi.  Its  "  more  streight  &  narrowe  channell "  does 
not  agree  well  with  the  "  vast  serpentine  channel "  of  Elysee 
Reclus  ;  any  more  than  the  "  rich  &  fruitfull  countryes  lying 
round  about  it "  do,  with  the  "  sterile  land "  reached  by  de 
Vaca,  or  the  '^  unpeopled  island "  found  by  the  remnant  of 
De  Soto's  followers  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.     Peter 


160  ATnerica:   Its  Geographical  History. 

Martyr  evidently  did  not  confound  the  River  Panuco  with  the 
Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo ;  but  he  seems  to  have  regarded  the 
former  as  of  the  greater  importance.  Even  supposing,  then, 
for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  the  river  of  "  Amichel "  of  the 
royal  proclamation  were  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  of  Peter 
Martyr,  there  is  no  good  ground  for  thinking  that  it  was  our 
Mississippi.  Furthermore,  both  the  Panuco  and  the  River  of 
Palmes  are  mentioned  as  keeping  the  water  fresh  far  out  to 
sea,  a  characteristic  usually  ascribed  only  to  the  Mississippi,  of 
the  rivers  flowing  into  the  gulf;  while  of  the  Espiritu  Santo, 
no  such  remark  is  made. 

Both  on  the  maps  and  in  the  later  histories  and  relations, 
there  is  to  be  found  frequently  the  name  of  the  bay  of  Espiritu 
Santo.  A  natural  supposition  seems  to  be  that  the  Rio  del 
Espiritu  Santo  would  flow  into  that  bay.  Pineda's  halting 
place  does  not  appear  to  have  been  on  a  bay,  certainly  not  on 
a  prominent  one.  On  the  other  hand,  the  bay  w^here  De  Soto 
landed  was  named  Espiritu  Santo ;  but  that  was  probably  the 
present  Tampa  Bay,  and  could  therefore  have  no  possible 
connection  with  the  Mississippi  River.  The  same  name  was 
given  to  the  bay  where  La  Salle  landed  in  1685,  supposing 
himself  to  have  found  one  of  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi, 
while  he  was  actually  on  the  coast  of  what  is  now  Texas.  In 
the  memoir  of  Daniel  Coxe,  an  English  explorer  of  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  published  by  French  in 
his  Louisiana  Collections,  the  Espiritu  Santo  Bay  is  mentioned 
several  times ;  and  from  the  context,  it  is  quite  certain  that 
the  writer  does  not  always  mean  the  same  body  of  water.  In 
one  place  he  says  :  "  There  falls  out  of  the  Meschacebe  [Mis- 
sissippi] a  branch  which  after  a  course  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  empties  itself  into  the  N.  E.  end  of  the  great  Bay 
of  Spirito  Santo.''  [Pt.  11.  p.  233.]  This  is  probably  the 
Amate,  which  leaves  the  Mississippi  and,  flowing  through 
lakes  Maurepas,  Ponchartrain,  and  Borgne,  empties  into  the 
St.  Louis  Bay.  He  then  goes  on  to  say  that  there  are  only 
two  large  rivers  between  the  peninsula  of  Florida  and  the 


Supplement  151 

Mississippi : — "  the  first,  that  of  Palache,  the  true  Indian  name, 
by  the  Spaniards  called  the  river  of  Spirito  Santo,  or  of 
Apalache,  adding  an  A,  after  the  Arabian  manner,  from 
which  a  great  part  of  their  language  is  derived ;  .  .  .  This 
river  enters  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  about  100  miles  from  the  Cod 
of  the  Bay  of  Palache,  at  the  northwest  end  of  the  Peninsula 
of  Florida."  Now  as  it  is  350  miles  or  more  in  a  straight 
line  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Apalache  Bay,  it  is  not  to  be 
presumed  that  Coxe  meant  the  same  body  of  water  in  these 
two  descriptions.  He  informs  us  in  another  passage  that  the 
Coussa  [Coosa]  River,  a  branch  of  the  Mobile,  "  enters  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  about  fifteen  leagues  to  the  west  of  the  great 
Bay  of  Nassau  or  Spirito  Santo.  .  .  .  The  river  runs  into  a  kind 
of  lagoon  or  bay.  .  .  .  Near  the  mouth  of  this  river  the  French 
have  lately  made  a  new  settlement,  called  Fort  Louis.  .  .  . 
The  distance  between  this  river  and  that  of  Palache  or  Spirito 
Santo  to  the  east  is  about  190  miles.''  [Ibid.,  235-236.] 
"  The  Bay  of  Nassau  or  Spirito  Santo  is  made  by  four  islands, 
which  run  almost  due  south,  a  little  inclining  to  the  west." 
[p.  237.]  This  last  description  points  rather  to  Apalachicola 
Bay,  than  to  Apalache  Bay ;  and  as  the  former  receives  the 
waters  of  a  much  larger  river  than  any  flowing  into  Apalache 
Bay,  it  is  possible  that  the  Apalachicola  River  was  sometimes 
known  by  the  name  Espiritu  Santo.  The  nature  of  the 
stream  and  of  the  country  about  its  mouth  agrees  much  better 
with  Peter  Martyr's  description  of  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo 
than  that  of  either  the  Mobile  or  the  Mississippi.  Further- 
more, Apalachicola  Bay  is  one  that  would  be  very  noticeable  to 
an  explorer,  feeling  his  way,  without  a  chart,  along  the  shores 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

In  describing  the  Coosa  River  Captain  Coxe  writes : — 
"  Many  rivulets  uniting,  after  a  course  of  eighty  miles,  form 
a  river  bigger  than  the  Thames  at  Kingston,  making  several 
delicious  isles,  some  three  or  four  miles  long,  and  half  a  mile 
broad  ;  .  .  .  The  first  considerable  town  or  province  is  Chiaha, 
famous  for  its  pearl  fishing."     [French,  ColL,  Pt.  II.  p.  234.] 


152  America:   Its  Geographical  Histo7^y, 

Mr.  Buckingham  Smith's  translation  of  the  "  Relation  of  the 
conquest  of  Florida,  presented  by  Luys  Hernandez  de  Biedma 
in  the  year  1544  to  the  King  of  Spain  in  Council/'  mentions  a 
town  of  "  Chiha "  which  the  De  Soto  exploring  company 
reached  in  four  days'  march  from  the  ridges  where  were  found 
the  head  waters  of  the  Espiritu  Santo.  "  From  there  we 
marched  four  days,  and  arrived  at  a  town  called  Chiha,  which 
is  very  plentiful  in  food.  It  is  secluded  on  an  island  of  this 
river  of  Espiritu  Santo,  which,  all  the  way  from  the  place  of 
its  rise,  forms  very  large  islands."  [JM.,  p.  241.]^  Both 
authors  agree  that  the  place  mentioned  (Chiha  or  Chiaha)  was 
near  the  province  of  Coosa.  If  we  consider  that  Biedma 
specially  calls  attention  to  the  ^^  Apalache,  a  river  dividing 
the  one  from  the  other  Province,"  the  probability  seems  to  be 
very  strong  that  Captain  Coxe  was  in  error  in  applying  the 
name  Santo  Spirito  to  the  Apalache  [Apalachicola].  In  the 
great  work  of  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega  on  De  Soto's  conquest  of 
Florida,  I  have  been  unable  to  find  that  he  ever  mentions  the 
Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo,  though  he  often  makes  reference  to 
the  bay  where  the  company  landed,  and  where  the  ships 
remained  for  some  time  awaiting  orders,  under  the  name 
Espiritu  Santo.  Biedma,  on  the  other  hand,  makes  frequent 
mention  of  the  river  of  that  name,  and  among  other  passages 
there  is  one  to  which  especial  attention  may  well  be  drawn,  as 
it  is  apparently  the  authority  for  the  statement  generally  made 
that  De  Soto  expected  his  ships  to  meet  him  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi.  De  Soto  commissioned  Francesco  Maldonado 
to  return  to  Cuba  for  supplies,  etc.,  "  and  if  within  six  months' 
time  he  should  hear  nothing  of  us,  to  come  with  the  brigan- 
tines,  and  run  the  shore  as  far  as  the  River  Espiritu  Santo,  to 
which  we  should  have  to  resort."  [p.  236.]  ^  Previous  to  this, 
Maldonado  had  been  sent  on  a  two  months'  cruise  along  the 
coast,  and,  according  to  Biedma,  continued  "  until  he  arrived  " 


1  See  the  original  Spanish,  Doc.  Ined.,  III.  422-423. 

2  Original  in  Doc.  Ined.,  III.  p.  418. 


Supplement.  153 

"at  a  river  which  had  a  good  entrance,  a  good  harbor,  and  an 
Indian  village  on  the  borders  of  the  sea."  [Ibid.^  Garcilaso 
de  la  Yega  goes  into  this  whole  subject  much  more  in  detail 
than  Biedma,  and  as  a  careful  historian  and  a  contemporary 
of  De  Soto,  his  testimony  is  probably  as  trustworthy  as  that 
of  Biedma.  He  gives  the  details  of  the  coasting  of  Maldonado 
in  search  of  a  fine  harbor,  the  latter's  report  of  his  success,  the 
orders  of  De  Soto  as  to  his  return  [in  about  eight  months 
instead  of  six,  February  to  October],  the  account  of  that 
return,  and  the  disappointment  felt  at  not  finding  De  Soto, 
the  reasons  for  De  Soto  not  carrying  out  his  original  plan  and 
meeting  Maldonado  there,  and  the  searches  for  the  missing 
explorers  in  the  two  years  following,  until  at  last  the  fate  of 
the  expedition  was  heard  of  in  Mexico.  In  all  these  instances 
the  name  Espiritu  Santo  does  not  occur  a  single  time  as  the 
place  of  proposed  meeting,  but  another  name  is  mentioned, 
and  always  the  same  name  which  is  Achusi.  This  is  always 
spoken  of  as  a  "  Puerto  '^  or  port,  and  is  described  in  a 
manner  to  remind  one  much  more  of  a  broad  river  mouth  or 
bay  than  of  any  of  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi. 

That  Achusi  was  not  unknown  to  Biedma,  who  was  one  of 
the  explorers,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  mentions,  on  the 
way  to  Mavila,  coming  "  to  a  river,  a  copious  flood,  which  we 
considered  to  be  that  which  empties  into  the  Bay  of  Chuse." 
[p.  242.]  On  this  river  was  Mavila  [Mobile]  forty  leagues 
from  the  sea,  according  to  the  Indian  story,  [p.  242.]  As 
Mavila  was  on  the  river  emptying  into  the  Chuse  (Achusi), 
according  to  one  author,  and  as  Maldonado  was  to  return  to 
Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo,  according  to  the  same  author,  or  to 
Achusi,  according  to  the  other  writer,  is  it  not  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  they  were  using  different  names  for  the  mouth  of 
the  same  river,  especially  as  one  name,  Mavila,  a  city  on  that 
river,  remains  fixed?  Here,  I  believe,  we  have  the  river 
generally  known  as  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  among  the 
Spaniards.  That  there  was  at  times  confusion,  even  among 
them,  there  is  little  doubt ;  but  that  in  general  the  present 


164  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

Alabama  and  Mobile  rivers  were  called  by  the  name  Rio  del 
Espiritu  Santo,  seems  extremely  probable,  if  not  absolutely 
certain. 

If  the  reader  is  not  yet  convinced,  there  are  many  other  evi- 
dences pointing  to  the  same  solution  of  the  difficulty.  Having 
shown  what  river  was  probably  intended  under  the  name 
Espiritu  Santo,  it  remains  to  point  out  why  the  Mississippi 
was  not  the  river  thus  designated  ;  for  he  who  contends  against 
a  generally  accepted  thesis  must  be  prepared  to  show  sufficient 
cause  for  his  non-belief.  It  has  been  already  shown  that  the 
river  which  Pineda  entered  and  which  is  said  to  have  been 
named  by  him  the  Espiritu  Santo,  could  be  taken  for  the  Missis- 
sippi only  by  doing  violence  to  the  best  evidence  on  the  matter 
which  we  can  find.  Chronologically,  Cabeza  de  Vaca  is  the  next 
in  order  who  is  said  to  have  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi ;  but  if  he  did,  he  fails  to  give  us  the  name  Espiritu 
Santo,  or  any  other  for  it ;  ^  so  does  not  need  to  detain  us. 
Following  him,  came  De  Soto,  whose  name  is  indellibly  en- 
rolled in  the  annals  of  the  mighty  stream,  in  whose  waters  his 
earthly  remains  were  sunk  to  their  last  rest.  That  he  did  not 
know  the  Mississippi  under  the  name  Espiritu  Santo,  at  any 
rate  during  the  early  part  of  his  wanderings,  has  been  shown 
to  be  very  probable,  by  the  fact  that  the  latter  name  was  often 
applied  by  him  and  his  followers  to  a  much  smaller  stream,  far 
to  the  east  of  the  Mississippi.  According  to  the  work  of  his 
great  historian,  he  never  knew  it  at  any  time  under  that  name ; 
but  there  is  a  passage  in  the  memoir  of  Biedma  which  gives  some 
ground  for  assuming  that  these  two  names  were  applied  to  one 
and  the  same  river  by  the  men  of  that  ill-fated  expedition. 
Relating  their  arrival  at  the  town  of  Quizquiz,  he  says  :  "  The 
town  was  near  the  banks  of  the  River  Espiritu  Santo."  [p. 
249.]  However,  from  that  time  on,  we  do  not  find  that  he 
makes  any  mention  of  the  Espiritu  Santo ;  but  he  speaks  ofteu 


^  Shea's  Miss.  Valley,  p.  x. 


Supplement  155 

of  the  Rio  Grande,  though  without  any  connection  which 
makes  it  probable  that  he  intends  the  same  river.  On  page 
256,  however,  he  mentions  "the  Rio  Grande,  from  whence 
we  came,"  in  a  manner  implying  strongly  that  he  thereby 
intended  the  river  near  which  was  situated  the  town  of 
Quizquiz.  From  the  contemporary  relation  of  the  same 
expedition  by  a  Gentleman  of  Elvas,  we  learn  that  Quiz- 
quiz  was  near  the  Rio  Grande.  [Buckingham  Smith's 
Translation,  p.  101.] 

When  we  call  to  mind  that  Biedma  in  his  memoir  never 
afterwards  refers  to  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo,  and  constantly 
mentions  the  Rio  Grande ;  and  when  we  consider  that  De  Soto 
knowingly  went  farther  west  than  the  place  of  meeting  Mal- 
donado,  agreed  upon,  i.  e.  according  to  Biedma  the  Espiritu 
Santo,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  in  this  one  instance 
there  was  a  slip  of  the  pen?  since  his  statement  does  not  seem 
to  be  supported  by  any  other  assertion  either  of  himself  or  of 
other  contemporary  chroniclers. 

For  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  after  De  Soto's  unsuc- 
cessful attempt  to  conquer  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
this  vast  stretch  of  country  received  but  little  attention 
from  Europeans ;  and  when,  toward  the  close  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  it  again  came  into  prominence,  it  was  first 
approached  from  the  land  side,  and  not  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  » In  following  the  narrative  of  the  explorations  and 
early  settlements  of  the  French  in  this  quarter,  it  will  be  found 
that  they  identified  the  Mississippi  with  a  number  of  names  of 
rivers  which  appear  on  old  Spanish  maps,  but  very  rarely 
with  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo.  Through  these  men  we 
learn  that  a  number  of  names  were  given  to  the  Mississippi, 
even  by  the  Indians  living  upon  its  banks  ;  but  the  one  which 
has  taken  precedence  of  all  others  is  that  which  De  Soto 
seems  to  have  found  in  use  on  the  part  which  he  touched,  and 
which  the  Spaniards  translated  into  the  Rio  Grande  of  their 
native  tongue,  but  which  the  French  retained  in  what  they 


156  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

understood  to  be  its  original  form,  Mississippi/  The  first  of 
Frenchmen  to  learn  of  the  existence  of  this  mighty  stream 
and  call  the  attention  of  his  fellow-countrymen  to  it  was 
Claude  Allouez,  founder  of  a  number  of  missions,  and  the 
first  of  missionaries  to  meet  the  Sioux  Indians.  [  Winsor,  Nar. 
and  Crit.  Hist,  TV.  286.]  This  was  toward  the  close  of  the 
third  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  announcement 
of  this  news  inspired  the  expedition  of  Joliet  and  Marquette, 
who,  however,  did  not  reach  the  mouth  of  the  river.  By  Mr. 
Neill  we  are  told  that  Joliet  called  the  river  Buade,  [^yinsor, 
IV.  178],  while  Mr.  Winsor  himself  says  he  called  it  Colbert 
[IV.  206]  ;  but  neither  of  them  affirms  or  intimates  that  he 
took  it  for  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  of  the  Spaniards.  To 
the  intrepid  de  La  Salle  we  owe  the  first  descent  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  its  mouth,  together  with  trustworthy  scientific 
observations ;  and  he  makes  the  statement  in  a  letter  which 
has  been  preserved  to  us  that  "this  [River]  Escondido^  is 
certainly  [the]  Mississippi.'^  [Margry,  Memoir es  et  Docu- 
mentSj  II.  198.]  (Cet  Escondido  est  assurement  Mississippi.) 
Thomassy,  in  his  G6ologie  de  la  Louisiane,  quotes  the  Relation 
of  Pere  Zenobe  as  authority  for  the  statement  to  the  effect 
that  they  found  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  "  at  the  place 
where  the  maps  show  the  Rio  Escondido.''     [p.  18.]     The 


^According  to  Shea's  Mississippi  Valley,  p.  xxiii-xxiv,  the  word  first 
appeared  in  Father  Allouez's  Relation,  1666-67,  in  the  form  Messipi ;  from 
which  it  was  afterwards  lengthened,  though  often  spelled  with  only  one  p 
by  the  French.  Another  form  not  unfrequent  was  Meschacebe.  We  are 
told  the  word  comes  from  the  Algonquin  language,  and  is  composed  of 
Missi  (great)  and  sepe  (river).  {Ibid.,  p.  6.)  From  a  letter  of  a  Recollect, 
it  appears  that  the  name  Mississipy  was  that  in  use  among  the  Ontaonas 
[Algonquin  ?]  Indians.  [Margry,  11.  p.  245.]  Other  Indian  names  attrib- 
uted to  parts  of  the  Mississippi  are  Gustacha,  Chucagua,  Malabouchia, 
Namese-Sipon,  Tapata,  and  Ri.  Among  the  French  it  received  not  only 
Mississippi,  but  also  Grande  Riviere,  Colbert,  St.  Louis,  and  Buade. 

^  As  the  word  Escondido  means  hidden  or  concealed,  this  name  is  appli- 
cable to  the  Mississippi,  which  though  so  great  was  so  diflScult  to  find  from 
the  ocean  side. 


Supplement.  157 

same  author  cites  also  an  anonymous  relation  of  La  Salle's 
voyage,  which  gives  us  not  only  negative  evidence  that  the 
Mississippi  was  not  identified  with  the  Espiritu  Santo,  but  also 
positive  evidence,  by  calling  attention  to  the  fact  of  their  being 
distant  from  each  other ;  or  to  be  exact,  to  the  fact  that  the 
Mississippi  reached  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  at  some  distance  from 
the  Bay  of  Espiritu  Santo  ;  for  this  author  affirms  :  ^'  It  [the 
Mississippi]  falls  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Bay  of  Espiritu  Santo,  between  the  27th  and  28th  degrees 
of  latitude,  and  at  the  place  where  some  maps  show  the  Rio 
de  la  Madalena,  and  others  the  Rio  Escondido."  [p.  14.] 
Furthermore,  in  a  letter  describing  his  second  voyage,  La 
Salle  himself  seems  to  mention  expressly  what  bay  he  means 
by  the  Espiritu  Santo,  namely  the  Mobile.   [Thomassy,  p.  20.]  ^ 

La  Salle's  attempt  to  found  a  colony  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi  was  a  failure,  as  his  pilots  missed  the  mouths  of 
that  stream  and  sailed  on  to  a  bay  on  the  coast  of  the  present 
Texas,  into  which.  La  Salle  persuaded  himself,  flowed  one  of 
the  branches  of  the  mighty  river  to  which  he  had  given  the 
name  of  his  patron,  Colbert.  But  the  project  of  establishing 
a  colony  on  the  Mississippi  was  not  lost  sight  of  in  France, 
and  in  1699  the  attempt  was  renewed  with  better  success  by 
Lemoyne  d'Iberville.  In  the  account  of  this  expedition,  Mr. 
Davis,  another  of  the  contributors  to  the  Narrative  and 
Critical  History,  identifies  the  Mississippi  with  the  '^  Palisado 
of  the  Spaniards''  [V.  p.  17],  which  was  the  idea  of  d'lber- 
ville  himself,  who  was  struck,  on  entering  the  river,  by  the 
appropriateness  of  the  name.     [Margry,  IV.  p.  159.] 

Captain  Coxe,  whose  acquaintance  we  have  already  made, 
informs  us  that  the  Spaniards  called  the  Mississippi  the  "  Rio 
Grande  del  Norte."  [French,  Hist.  Coll,  Pt.  II.  p.  224.] 
Bernard  de  la  Harpe,  who  wrote  a  "  Historical  Journal  of  the 
Establishment  of  the  French  in  Louisiana,"  and  who  headed  a 


^  It  is  possible  that  the  parenthesis  (celle  de  la  Mobile)  may  be  inserted 
by  Thomassy. 


158  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

French  colony  in  1718,  refers  to  the  building  in  1562  of  "  the 
fortress  of  Charlesfort,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Cahouitas 
[Chattahoochee  ?],  or  St.  Esprit,  to  the  east  of  St.  Joseph's 
Bay."  [French,  Hist.  Coll.,  Pt.  III.  p.  10.]  As  the  Chat- 
tahoochee River  flows  into  the  Apalachicola,  which  in  turn 
empties  its  waters  into  the  bay  of  the  same  name ;  and  as  the 
latter  is  east  of  and  near  St.  Joseph's  Bay,  we  have  here  one 
more  line  of  evidence  tending  to  prove  the  Rio  del  Espiritu 
Santo  distant  from  the  Mississippi. 

Reference  has  been  made  several  times  to  the  French  inter- 
pretation of  the  Spanish  maps,  or  rather  to  the  river  on  those 
maps  whose  position  most  nearly  corresponded  with  the  place 
where  they  found  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi.  We  turn 
now  to  an  examination  of  the  representations  of  the  Rio  del 
Espiritu  Santo  on  some  old  maps,  and  of  the  Mississippi  on 
some  of  the  earliest  maps  on  which  it  occurs,  to  see  what  light 
they  will  throw  on  the  subject  in  hand. 

Probably  the  oldest  map  on  which  the  name  Rio  del 
Espiritu  Santo  is  found  is  that  reproduced  for  us  by  Mr. 
Winsor  in  volume  II.  of  his  Narrative  and  Critical  History, 
page  218,  and  which  he  entitles  "  Gulf  of  Mexico,  1520."  On 
it  is  represented  a  river  flowing  into  a  broad  bay  very  unlike 
our  conception  of  what  the  Mississippi  mouth  could  ever  have 
been  in  historical  times.  From  the  head  of  the  bay,  extending 
into  the  gulf,  is  the  name  "  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo."  The 
editor  informs  us  that  this  map  "  probably  embodies  the  results 
of  Pinedo's  [m'c]  expedition  to  the  northern  shores  of  the 
Gulf  in  1519.  This  was  the  map  sent  to  Spain  by  Garay,  the 
governor  of  Jamaica.  What  seems  to  be  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  will  be  noted  as  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo."  On 
page  404  of  the  same  volume,  there  is  represented  what  is 
supposed  to  be  Cortes'  map  of  even  date ;  and  on  this  map  the 
"  Rio  del  spiritu  sancto"  appears  between  two  rivers  that  flow 
into  a  prominent  bay  which  has  a  great  offset  to  the  east, 
similar  to  the  form  of  the  Mobile  Bay  of  to-day.  Mr.  Shea, 
in  his  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  p.  viii,  speaks  of  a 


Supplement  159 

map  of  1521  on  which  the  name  occurs,  but  does  not  repro- 
duce it  for  us  or  tell  where  it  is  to  be  found.  On  the  great 
Weimar  map  of  1 527  the  "  R  :  del  spirito  sancto  "  flows  into 
a  great  double  bay  which  is  by  far  the  most  prominent  body 
of  water  emptying  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Ribero's  map  of 
1529  represents  this  body  of  water  in  practically  the  same 
manner  and  abbreviates  the  name.  Furthermore,  both  of  these 
maps  call  this  bay  "  mar  pequena  "  or  little  sea,  which  indicates 
that  the  water  was  salt;  whereas  a  distinguishing  characteristic 
of  the  region  about  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  mentioned 
and  emphasized  by  a  number  of  modern  writers  on  the  subject, 
is  supposed  to  be  that  the  water  is  for  a  long  distance  into  the 
sea,  sweet.  On  Ribero^s  map  the  form  of  this  mar  pequena  is 
not  only  strikingly  like  that  of  Mobile  Bay,  but  it  is  repre- 
sented as  receiving  water  flowing  through  several  channels 
into  its  northern  extremity.  An  examination  of  a  good  map 
of  Mobile  Bay  reveals  the  fact  that  it  receives  the  waters  of 
the  Mobile  River  through  quite  a  number  of  channels.  As 
the  map  of  1529  pictures  only  the  mouths  of  these  channels 
and  does  not  follow  them  into  the  interior,  some  later  cartog- 
raphers were  probably  led  thereby  into  the  error  of  representing 
several  large  separate  rivers  flowing  into  this  bay,  they  not 
knowing  that  all  these  channels  were  united  in  one,  a  short 
distance  inland.  In  Winsor,  II.  219,  there  is  a  sketch  of 
Maiollo's  map  of  1527,  according  to  which  the  Rio  del 
Espiritu  Santo  flows  into  a  large  bay  with  a  narrow  opening 
into  the  sea,  which  is  so  characteristic  of  Mobile  Bay.  On  a 
map  of  about  1530,  preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  and 
copied  for  the  Kohl  Collection,  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo 
flows  through  about  ten  degrees  of  latitude  and  empties  into 
an  immense  bay.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  map  of  the 
following  year  by  Grynaeus,  on  which  the  only  indication  of 
the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  is  a  "  Rio  de  Spu,^'  to  which  no 
prominence  is  given,  and  which  may  or  may  not  be  intended 
for  the  same  stream. 


160  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

Mercator,  the  greatest  geographer  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
who  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  possessed  of  a  fair  knowl- 
edge of  ^vhat  he  tried  to  depict,  gives  us  on  his  map  of  1741 
the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  flowing  into  a  very  prominent  bay, 
which  is  broader  at  the  north  than  at  the  south  where  it 
empties  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  An  early  French  map, 
dating  probably  from  the  first  half  of  the  same  century, 
shows  two  rivers  flowing  into  a  bay  of  similar  form,  and 
names  the  more  westerly  of  them  "  R.  de  St.  Esprit."  [See 
Winsor,  II.  224.]  On  the  next  page  Mr.  Wiusor  gives  a  map 
copied  from  one  in  the  British  Museum,  of  the  year  1536,  which 
represents  the  river  of  the  same  name  flowing  into  a  bay  of  like 
form.  Jomard  gives  the  fac-simile  of  a  very  large  and  beauti- 
ful map  of  the  world,  made  for  Henry  II.,  King  of  France. 
On  this  also  the  "  R  de  St  esprit "  is  represented  as  flowing 
into  the  northwest  corner  of  a  very  large  bay  which  is  much 
broader  at  the  north  than  at  the  south.  As  Henry  II.  reigned 
from  1547  to  1559,  this  map  must  have  been  drawn  about 
the  middle  of  the  century ;  and  as  we  see,  agrees  in  its  repre- 
sentation of  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  with  the  best  Spanish 
maps  of  that  period.  The  celebrated  Homem  map  of  1558 
gives  the  same  representation  of  this  river  and  bay ;  as  does  also 
practically  Sebastian  Cabot,  on  his  official  map  of  the  world. 
Again,  in  his  great  map  of  1569,  Mercator  depicts  the  Rio  del 
Espiritu  Santo  in  the  same  manner.  The  following  year  saw 
the  publication  of  the  celebrated  work  of  Ortelius,  which 
became  the  model  of  so  many  modern  atlases ;  and  on  the 
American  map  of  this  work  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  emp- 
ties into  the  "  Baia  de  culata,"  or  Muddy  Bay.  John  Dee's 
map  of  1580  is  of  the  same  character  so  far  as  it  has  regard  to 
the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo.  In  the  Royal  Library  of  Munich 
there  is  a  fine  parchment  map  bound  into  the  end  of  the  third 
volume  of  the  original  edition  of  the  works  of  Robert  Dudley, 
on  which  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  flows  into  a  prominent 
bay  which  receives  the  waters  from  several  channels ;  and 
in  this  it  strongly  resembles  the  Mobile  Bay  of  to-day.     This 


Supplement  161 

map  was  evidently  in  use  by  some  navigator ;  for  it  bears  an 
inscription  to  the  effect  that  the  whole  territory  should  be 
moved  20  minutes  toward  the  north  and  25  minutes  in  the 
direction  of  Mexico.  In  a  hand-writing  different  from  that  of 
the  body  of  the  map,  is  an  inscription  which  informs  us  that 
"Thomas  Hood  made  this  platte,  1592/^  As  this  is  one  of 
the  oldest  maps  of  English  make  that  has  been  preserved  to 
us,  and  although  a  fine  production,  seems  but  little  known,  it 
seemed  to  the  author  worthy  of  reproduction  here  for  American 
readers.  Likewise  the  Judaeus  map  of  1593  represents  the 
Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  as  a  large  river  flowing  from  the  north 
into  a  great  bay,  which  in  turn  discharges  its  waters  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.'  The  latest  map  of  the  sixteenth  century 
known  to  us  is  that  of"  Wytfliet,"  dated  1597  ;  and  on  this 
also  there  is  drawn  a  "  Mer  qurno "  which  receives  at  its 
north-west  corner  the  waters  of  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo, 
and  a  little  to  the  east,  the  waters  from  three  channels  of 
minor  importance.  The  same  idea  is  followed  on  the  map  of 
America  in  the  Purchas  of  1625,  vol.  III.  page  853 ;  also  on 
the  de  Laet  map  of  the  same  date,  where  the  rivers,  however, 
are  not  named,  but  the  bay  is  called  "  Bahia  del  Spiritu  Santo." 
Into  this  bay  flow  four  rivers ;  and  the  same  are  shown  on  the 
map  of  1656  by  Sanson  d^ Abbeville,  where  the  westernmost 
bears  the  name  "  Rio  del  Spiritu  Santo." 

We  have  thus  seen  that  for  more  than  a  century  and  a 
quarter  the  best  maps  have  with  a  wonderful  uniformity 
shown  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  emptying  into  a  great  bay. 
We  would  not  maintain  that  there  may  not  be  in  existence 
maps  of  this  period  on  which  this  river  is  otherwise  depicted ; 
but  we  have  consulted  those  of  that  time  which  are  universally 
acknowledged  to  be  the  best,  and  have  found  them  showing  a 
practical  unanimity  among  the  geographers  of  the  age  in  repre- 
senting the  river  del  Espiritu  Santo  as  discharging  itself  into 
a  prominent  bay  and  not  directly  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
And  that  bay  we  believe  to  be  the  Mobile ;  although  it  is 
possible  that  the  Apalachicola  may  have  been  sometimes 
11 


162  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

intended.  As  the  latter  is  formed  by  islands,  and  really  pro- 
jects into  the  gulf,  while  the  maps  show  the  Bay  of  Espiritu 
Santo  stretching  far  inland,  and  with  its  mouth  at  the  same 
latitude  with  the  general  coast-line,  it  seems  clear  to  us  that 
the  Mobile  was  the  bay  thus  represented. 

We  now  approach  the  period  when  the  French  began  their 
memorable  explorations  of  the  Mississippi,  coming  first  from 
the  inland,  where  they  had  heard  of  the  ^^  Great  River  "  from 
the  Indians ;  and,  following  that  mighty  stream  to  its  mouth, 
found  that  it  divided  itself  before  reaching  the  gulf;  and  instead 
of  entering  through  a  great  bay,  its  waters  flowed  into  the  gulf 
directly,  through  a  number  of  channels,  all  of  which  were  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  obstruct  entrance  from  the  sea  in  ships, 
rather  than  to  invite  it,  as  did  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo. 
On  approaching  later  from  the  sea,  the  French  were  compelled 
to  anchor  at  a  distance  from  the  mouth,  under  the  shelter  of 
some  islands,  and  carry  on  their  exploration  of  the  river  in 
small  boats.  As  to  the  character  of  the  region  surrounding 
the  mouths  of  the  river,  we  shall  later  let  these  explorers 
speak  for  themselves.  In  the  meantime  we  will  follow  some- 
what further  the  story  of  the  maps. 

On  the  Franquelin  map  of  1684  (1688  according  to  Kohl), 
we  have  definitely  the  Mississippi  discharging  itself  directly 
into  the  gulf ;  while  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  is  to  the  east, 
and  empties  into  a  bay.  However,  we  are  informed  by 
Thomassy  [p.  207]  that  in  1681  Franquelin  had  made  another 
map  of  this  region  on  which  he  represented  the  Mississippi  as 
emptying  into  the  Bay  of  St.  Esprit ;  but  that  the  expedition 
of  La  Salle  in  1682  showed  this  view  to  be  false,  and  that  he 
accordingly  corrected  the  error  in  the  later  and  better  known 
map.  In  Winsor,  V.  22,  there  is  reproduced  a  map  of  the 
environs  of  the  Mississippi,  which  is  said  to  have  been  sent  to 
France  in  the  year  1700,  according  to  which  that  river  empties 
into  the  gulf  through  a  number  of  channels,  and  there  is  no 
sign  of  the  presence  of  such  a  bay  as  that  in  which  the  Rio 
del  Espiritu  Santo  had  been  heretofore  represented  as  flowing. 


Supplement.  163 

On  Delisle's  map  of  about  the  year  1707,  the  Mississippi 
Eiver  is  represented  very  much  as  we  find  it  now  on  our 
maps,  while  to  the  east  of  its  mouths  is  drawn  a  bay  very 
similar  to  that  which  we  have  seen  on  earlier  maps  receiving 
the  waters  of  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo ;  but  here  the  bay  is 
provided  with  its  modern  name.  Mobile,  This  is  as  it  is 
given  in  Winsor,  II.  294-95.  Kohl  reproduces  also  a  map 
of  the  same  cartographer,  to  which  he  ascribes  the  date 
1717-1720.  On  this  we  find  for  the  first  time,  so  far  as  I 
know,  the  "  R.  des  Alibamons,"  whose  waters  later  mingle 
with  those  of  the  "  Baye  de  la  Mobile."  Here  we  are  on 
truly  modern  ground ;  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  has  dis- 
appeared, and  the  Alibama,  not  the  Mississippi,  taken  its 
place.  Of  the  same  date  is  a  map  of  this  region  by  de 
Serigny,  with  the  same  characteristics.  [Thomassy,  Plate  II.] 
One  map  of  later  date,  and  only  one,  has  come  under  our 
observation  on  which  the  name  Espiritu  Santo  occurs  in  a 
connection  which  brings  it  into  notice  here ;  and  that  is  the 
map  published  with  the  memoir  of  Captain  Coxe,  to  which 
attention  has  already  been  called.  Here  we  find  ^'  R.  Palance 
or  Spirito  Santo.''  From  its  position  on  the  map,  this  river 
is  probably  the  Apalachicola,  which  seems  to  be  also  the  river 
he  intended  when  he  wrote  of  the  Apalache. 

What  conclusion  are  we  to  draw  from  this  accumulated  evi- 
dence of  the  maps  of  two  centuries?  As  long  as  the  name 
Espiritu  Santo  endures,  that  river  is  practically  represented  as 
flowing  into  a  large  and  very  prominent  bay ;  as  soon  as  the 
Mississippi  is  known,  it  is  found  to  flow  through  several  com- 
paratively unnoticeable  channels  directly  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  When  the  name  Espiritu  Santo  disappears,  its  place 
is  taken  by  Mobile,  which  is  known  to  be  but  a  simple  modi- 
fication of  that  of  Mavila,  which  was  the  name  of  the  most 
important  Indian  town  of  that  region  at  the  time  of  De  Soto's 
expedition,  and  situated  not  far  inland  from  the  bay  [Achusi, 
according  to  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega,  and  Espiritu  Santo,  accor- 
ding to  Biedma  and  most  modern  writers],  where  Maldonado 


164  America:   Its  Geographical  History, 

was  to  meet  De  Soto  with  arms  and  provisions  brought  from 
Cuba. 

But,  it  may  be  answered,  is  it  not  possible  that,  at  the  time 
of  Pineda,  the  Mississippi  did  empty  into  a  bay  ?  for  it  is  well 
known  that  it  alters  its  channels  from  time  to  time ;  may  it 
not  then  have  altered  more  or  less  suddenly  the  characteristic 
of  its  mouth  ?  Let  us  now  examine  the  evidence  on  this  point. 
Geologically  considered,  we  are  told  that  Lyell  "makes  the 
probable  age  of  the  delta  33,500  years.  To  this  he  adds 
half  as  much  for  the  age  of  the  river-swamp,  making  in  all 
50,000  years."  [Leconte's  Text  Book  of  Geology^  p.  28.] 
According  to  the  opinion  of  another  well-known  geologist,  Mr. 
Geikie,  "  The  area  of  this  vast  expanse  of  alluvium  is  given  at 
12,300  square  miles,  advancing  at  the  rate  of  262  feet  yearly 
into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  at  a  point  which  is  now  220  miles 
from  the  head  of  the  delta."  \_Text  Book  of  Geology ,  p.  389.] 
At  the  rate  of  262  feet  of  advancement  per  year,  the  delta,  in 
the  373  years  since  the  expedition  of  Pineda,  would  have 
advanced  97,726  feet,  or  a  very  little  more  than  18.5  miles. 
A  glance  at  any  good  map  of  Louisiana  will  show  that  cutting 
off  J?. 5  miles  of  the  Mississippi  would  not  by  any  possibility 
bring  the  mouth  of  that  river  at  the  head  of  a  large  bay,  far 
inland  from  the  line  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  fact  of  the 
matter  is,  it  would  bring  us  up  to  a  point  where  the  Mississippi 
unites  practically  all  its  waters  in  one  great  channel ;  and 
instead  of  emptying  into  a  bay  whose  head  waters  were  far 
north  of  the  east  and  west  coast-line  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  as 
the  Bay  of  Espiritu  Santo  is  always  represented,  it  would  have 
reached  the  latter  at  the  end  of  a  long  narrow  peninsula,  jut- 
ting far  out  beyond  that  line.  But  already  in  the  days  of  De 
Soto,  the  Mississippi  had  two  mouths,  if  we  are  to  believe  Gar- 
cilaso  de  la  Vega's  history  of  that  expedition.  [Lib.  VI.  Cap. 
X,  p.  249.]  And  that  was  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
after  Pineda's  expedition.  When  the  French  came  at  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  they  found  the  river  divided  into 
three  channels. 


Supplement  165 

Panfilo  de  Narvaez  is  supposed  to  have  lost  his  life  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  from  which  fate  Cabeza  de  Yaca  was 
saved,  to  wander  about  the  continent  for  years,  but  finally  to 
make  his  way  to  the  Spanish  settlements  of  Mexico,  and  to 
write  a  journal  of  his  meanderings.  His  description  is  how- 
ever vague,  and  he  fails  to  give  a  name  to  the  river  where  the 
tragedy  occurred.  However,  long  before  that  event  took  place, 
these  wanderers  "  arrived  at  a  bay  which  measured  one  league 
across,  and  was  deep  everywhere ;  and,  by  what  it  seemed  to 
us,  and  what  we  saw,  it  is  the  one  they  call  Espiritu  Santo/' 
[Cabeza  de  Vaca,  NaufragioSy  Chap,  xvi.]  As  this  was 
within  eight  years  of  Pineda's  expedition,  the  Mississippi  could 
not  have  changed  the  nature  of  its  mouth  very  materially  dur- 
ing the  interval.  Accordingly  we  must  reject  either  the  inter- 
pretation that  the  Espiritu  Santo  and  the  Mississippi  were  the 
same,  or  that  Panfilo  de  Narvaez  was  last  seen  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi. 

In  two  contemporary  descriptions  of  the  fate  which  met  the 
survivors  of  the  De  Soto  expedition,  there  is  mention  of  the 
exit  from  the  Mississippi  River  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In 
one*  we  read : — "  After  remaining  two  days,  the  Christians 
went  to  where  that  branch  of  the  river  enters  the  sea ;  and 
having  sounded  there,  they  found  forty  fathoms  of  water.'' 
[Buckingham  Smith's  translation  of  a  Tk-ue  Relation,  p.  184.] 
"  With  a  favorable  wind  they  sailed  all  that  day  in  fresh  water, 
the  next  night,  and  the  day  following  until  vespers,  at  which 
they  were  greatly  amazed ;  for  they  were  very  distant  from  the 
shore,  and  so  great  was  the  strength  of  the  current  of  the  river, 
the  coast  so  shallow  and  gentle,  that  the  fresh  water  entered 
far  into  the  sea."  [p.  186.]  Biedma's  account,  translated  by 
the  same  writer,  reads  as  follows,  and  is  of  especial  interest  as 
containing  the  assertion  that  the  river  empties  into  a  bay : — 
"  We  came  out  by  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  entering  into  a 
very  large  bay  made  by  it,  which  was  so  extensive  that  we 
passed  along  it  three  days  and  three  nights,  with  fair  weather, 
in  all  the  time  not  seeing  land,  so  that  it  appeared  to  us  we  " 


166  '  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

"  were  at  sea,  although  we  found  the  water  still  so  fresh  that  it 
could  well  be  drunk,  like  that  of  the  river.  Some  small 
islets  were  seen  westward,  to  which  we  went."  [p.  261.] 
Reading  this  passage  carefully,  we  find  that  the  only  reason 
that  Biedma  had  for  saying  that  from  the  mouth  of  the  river 
they  entered  a  bay,  was  because  for  so  long  a  time  they  were 
in  fresh  water.  Geologically,  we  know  that  it  was  an  impos- 
sibility for  the  Mississippi  to  have  entered  into  such  an  enor- 
mous bay  as  that  one  could  have  sailed  straight  ahead  therein 
for  three  days  and  nights,  even  in  the  most  awkward  boats, 
without  seeing  land.  If  however  we  call  to  mind  the  fact 
that  Moscoso's  party  had  started  on  their  voyage  down  the 
river,  taking  advantage  of  a  great  rise  in  the  stream  [Vega, 
Lib.  VI.  Chap,  xix,  p.  263],  and  knowing  also  that  it  takes 
a  long  time  for  those  waters  to  subside  when  they  have  once 
overflown  their  banks,  it  is  not  surprising  that  they  found 
comparatively  fresh  water  for  a  long  distance  from  the  mouth 
of  the  river.  But  we  must  not  allow  ourselves  to  be  deceived 
by  this  description  into  believing  that  the  Mississippi  then 
entered  into  a  fresh  water  bay. 

When  La  Salle  and  his  party  came  down  the  Mississippi, 
they  were  in  much  better  condition  to  take  and  record  obser- 
vations ;  and  from  their  accounts  we  derive  quite  a  diiferent 
impression  of  the  character  of  the  mouths  of  the  "  Great 
River."  Before  quoting  any  of  the  descriptions  of  that  expe- 
dition, let  us  remind  the  reader  that  La  Salle  named  the  Mis- 
sissippi Colbert,  which  name  was  sometimes  used  by  the 
French,  but  never  gained  currency  ;  as  the  Indian  name,  or 
rather  one  of  the  Indian  names,  Mississippi,  seems  to  have 
been  regarded  favorably  by  the  French  from  the  first  of  their 
explorations  on  its  waters.  Although  this  name  is  now  often 
if  not  usually  translated  *'  Father  of  Waters,"  the  early  explo- 
rers uniformly  translated  it  '^  Great  River,"  which  the 
Spaniards  also  did,  as  their  Rio  Grande,  the  name  generally 
used  by  them  in  descriptions  of  the  expeditions  of  De  Soto, 
demonstrates.     A  good  general  description  of  La  Sailers  dis- 


Supplement.  167 

covery  of  the  Mississippi  mouths  is  furnished  by  an  anony- 
mous narrative  of  the  expedition,  extracted  from  the  archives 
of  the  French  Marine,  and  translated  in  French's  Collection, 
2d  Ser.,  I.  23-24.  ^'  We  continued  our  voyage  until  the  6th 
[of  April,  1682],  when  we  discovered  three  channels,  by  which 
the  River  Colbert  discharges  itself  into  the  sea.  We  landed 
on  the  bank  of  the  most  western  channel,  about  three  leagues 
from  its  mouth.  On  the  7th,  M.  de  la  Salle  went  to  recon- 
noiter  the  shores  of  the  neighboring  sea,  and  M.  de  Tonty 
likewise  examined  the  great  middle  channel.  They  found 
these  three  outlets  beautiful,  large  and  deep.''  In  the  first 
volume  of  Margry's  M^moires  et  Documents  [6  vols.,  Paris, 
1879-1886],  there  is  the  "  Narrative  made  by  the  young 
Nicolas  de  la  Salle  of  the  enterprise  of  Robert,  Chevalier, 
during  the  year  1682."  In  this  we  find  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  the  discovery  of  the  mouths  of  this  most  important 
stream  of  our  great  territory.  "  On  the  following  day,  M.  de 
La  Salle  sent  M.  de  Tonty  by  the  left  branch,  and  he  himself, 
with  ten  men,  descended  the  right,  where  we  had  lodged.  He 
left  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning.  M.  de  la  Salle  returned 
at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  saying  that  he  had  found  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  and  that  the  river  advanced  far  into  the 
sea,  making  a  bank  on  each  side ;  that  he  had  carried  his  canoe 
on  the  other  side  of  the  bank,  and  that  the  water  which  does 
not  communicate  with  the  river  was  brackish."  [p.  562.] 
"  M.  de  Tonty  returned  at  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and 
said  that  the  left  branch  discharges  itself  into  a  large  sea,  at 
seven  leagues,  where  they  saw  an  island.  .  .  .  They  drank 
of  the  water,  which  was  sweet  and  muddy,  and  full  of  croco- 
diles or  alligators.  M.  de  Tonty  was  also  in  the  middle 
branch ;  we  ascended  the  river,  and  went  to  pass  the  night 
at  four  leagues  [above],  on  the  left  as  you  ascend.  Here 
there  were  small  trees,  some  of  which  were  cut  down,  so 
that  the  arms  of  the  king  might  be  erected  there. — The 
day  following,  M.  de  Tonty  returned.  He  said  that  the 
middle  channel  flows  into  a  great  sea  of  sweet  water.  ...    So  " 


168  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

"  we  erected  a  cross,  and  below  it,  buried  a  disk  of  lead,  on  which 
were  written  these  words  :  '  In  the  name  of  Louis  XIY .  King 
of  France  and  of  Navarre,  the  ninth  of  April,  1682,  the  Vexilla 
regis  was  sung  to  the  setting  up  of  the  cross,  then  the  Te  Deum, 
and  three  shots  were  fired  from  the  guns.  Provisions  are  fail- 
ing, and  each  one  has  only  one  handful  of  maize  per  day.' " 
[p.  562-563.]  In  1684,  M.  de  Tonty  himself  drew  up  an 
account  of  the  expedition  of  La  Salle,  from  which  we  translate 
the  following  : — "  We  did  not  arrive  until  the  6th  of  February 
at  the  River  Mississippi,  which  was  named  Colbert  by  M.  de 
La  Salle.^'  [Margry,  I.  p.  595.]  "We  continued  our  route, 
and,  the  6th  of  April,  we  arrived  at  the  sea.  The  7th,  as  this 
river  divides  itself  into  three  channels,  M.  de  la  Salle  was  to 
explore  that  to  the  right,  I,  the  middle  one,  and  the  Sieur 
d'Autray,  the  one  to  the  left.  We  found  them  very  beautiful, 
broad,  and  deep.  On  our  return,  the  9th  of  April,  M.  de 
La  Salle  had  the  arms  of  the  King  and  a  cross  set  up  and  the 
Te  Deum  sung.''  [p.  605.]  The  official  report  of  the  occa- 
sion is  preserved,  and  also  given  in  Margry,  II.  190-191. 
Translated,  it  reads  as  follows  : — ^'  We  continued  the  journey 
until  the  6th,  when  we  arrived  at  three  channels  by  which  the 
River  Colbert  discharges  itself  into  the  sea.  We  camped  on 
the  shore  of  the  western  channel,  at  three  leagues  or  there- 
abouts from  the  mouth.  On  the  7th,  M.  de  La  Salle  went  to 
reconnoitre  and  examine  the  shores  of  the  neighboring  sea,  and 
M.  de  Tonty,  the  great  channel  of  the  middle.  Having  found 
these  two  mouths  fine,  broad,  and  deep,  the  8th,  we  reascended 
a  little  above  the  confluence,  in  order  to  find  a  dry  place,  and 
one  which  had  not  been  overflowed.  At  about  the  27th  degree 
of  latitude,  a  column  and  a  cross  were  prepared,  and  on  the  said 
column  the  arms  of  France  were  painted  with  this  inscrip- 
tion : — ^  Louis  the  Great,  King  of  France  and  of  Navarre, 
reigns  the  9th  of  April,  1682.'  "  M.  Margry  has  also  found 
and  printed  part  of  a  letter  in  the  hand-writing  of  La  Salle, 
from  which  we  translate  the  following  passages  : — "  The  Mis- 
sissippi, which  is  scarcely  broader  than  the  Loire,  even  where" 


Supplement  169 

*4t  empties  into  the  sea.^^  [Margry,  II.  198.]  "Moreover, 
all  the  maps  are  of  no  value,  on  which  the  mouths  of  the 
River  Colbert  are  near  to  Mexico;  2d,  because  it  has  its 
mouths  to  the  east-south-east  and  not  to  the  south,  where  the 
entire  south  shore  of  Florida  faces,  with  the  exception  of  that 
part  which  runs  between  the  river  called  on  the  maps  Escondido 
and  the  Panuco.  This  Escondido  is  assuredly  the  Mississippi ; 
3d,  on  the  entire  coast  of  Florida  there  is  but  this  one  district 
which  has  this  altitude,  the  remainder  of  the  coast  being  almost 
everywhere  on  the  30th  degree."  [p.  198.]  Still  another  ac- 
count comes  to  us,  from  which  I  excerpt  a  sentence,  because  it 
contains  a  comparison  with  another  well-known  river.  It  is 
taken  from  one  of  the  monkish  Relations  of  the  period,  from 
which  so  much  of  our  knowledge  of  the  French  in  America  is 
derived.  "  They  arrived  happily  on  the  7th  of  April  at  the 
sea,  where  the  mouth  of  the  stream  is  very  nearly  like  that  of 
the  Saint  Lawrence."  [II.  p.  205.]  However,  the  writer 
must  have  meant  the  similarity  as  to  the  breadth  of  the  river 
as  it  enters  the  bay  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  not  with  the  bay 
itself;  for  we  shall  see  presently  that  the  mouths  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi were  not  prominent  and  easily  entered  from  the  sea, 
like  the  Gulf  and  River  of  St.  Lawrence.         ^  - 

La  Salle  returned  to  Canada  and  thence  to  France,  where 
he  received  permission  to  found  a  colony  in  the  region  he  had 
brought  to  light.  In  1685  he  returned  to  America,  seeking 
by  sea  the  mouths  of  the  great  river  which  he  had  found  from 
the  interior  three  years  previous.  We  shall  translate  his  own 
words  in  reference  to  this  peculiar  experience.  On  the  4th  of 
March,  1685,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Marquis  of  Seignelay, 
dating  it  from  "  The  western  mouth  of  the  Colbert."  He  says  : 
"  I  resolved  to  remount  this  channel  of  the  River  Colbert  rather 
than  return  to  the  more  considerable  one,  distant  25-30  leagues 
from  here,  to  the  north-east,  which  we  had  remarked  the  sixteenth 
of  January,  but  which  we  had  not  been  able  to  reconnoitre,  be- 
lieving on  the  report  of  the  pilots  of  His  Majesty's  vessel  and 
of  our  own,  that  we  had  not  yet  passed  the  Bay  of  Espiritu  " 


170  Amer^icct:   Its  Geographical  History. 

"  Santo  (that  of  Mobile) ;  but  finally,  after  having  coasted  con- 
tinually very  near  the  land,  and  with  fine  weather,  the  altitude 
made  us  remark  that  they  were  deceiving  themselves,  and  that 
the  river  we  had  seen  the  sixteenth  of  January,  was  in  effect 
the  principal  entrance  of  the  river  which  we  were  hunting." 
[Quoted  in  Thomassy,  p.  20.]  As  we  have  seen  by  the 
descriptions  of  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  as  they  were 
found  by  La  Salle  and  his  party  in  1682,  one  arm  was  but 
three  leagues  long  and  another  seven.  If  then  the  two  branches 
had  run  in  diametrically  opposite  directions,  their  mouths  could 
have  been  but  ten  leagues  apart.  La  Salle  himself  tells  us  that 
where  he  landed  in  1685  was  25-30  leagues  distant  from  the 
principal  mouth ;  and  this  had  proved  to  be  the  middle  one 
according  to  the  first  exploration.  We  must  admit  then,  that 
either  La  Salle  was  a  great  fool  or  else  that  he  realized  that  he 
was  not  on  any  one  of  the  three  mouths  of  the  river  which  his 
party  had  explored  three  years  before.  Furthermore  he  proved 
that  such  was  his  opinion  by  starting  out  later  on  quite  a  long 
journey  to  discover  the  stream  on  whose  western  branch  he 
thought  (?)  himself  to  be.  Accordingly,  we  cannot  agree  with 
Mr.  Winsor  when  he  writes,  "  The  map  in  La  Potherie's  His- 
toire  de  I'Amerique  8eptentrionale  .  .  .  ,  called  Carte  generate 
de  la  Nouvelle  France,  retains  the  misplacement  of  the 
mouths  as  La  Salle  had  conceived  them  to  be  on  the  western 
shore  of  the  gulf,  giving  the  name  Baye  de  Spiritu 
Santo  to  an  inlet  more  nearly  in  the  true  position  of  its 
mouths.'^  [V.  81.]  For,  as  we  have  just  seen.  La  Salle 
himself  wrote  *'  All  the  maps  are  of  no  value,  on  which  the 
mouths  of  the  River  Colbert  are  near  to  Mexico."  If,  how- 
ever, we  take  into  consideration  that,  at  a  number  of  points, 
there  are  streams  which  flow  out  of  the  Mississippi,  some  of 
which  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  had  been  remarked  by 
La  Salle  when  descending  the  river,  it  does  not  appear  so 
monstrous  that  he  should  have  hoped,  even  if  he  did  not 
believe,  that  he  had  landed  on  one  of  the  branches  of  that 
mighty  and  wonderful  stream.     Furthermore,  we  should  call 


Supplement,  171 

to  mind  the  fact  that  mariners  then  had  no  good  means  of 
reckoning  longitude,  and  that  La  Salle  accordingly  was  greatly 
deceived  in  the  distance  his  ships  had  sailed  after  passing  the 
mouths  of  the  Mississippi. 

But  La  Salle  perished  at  the  hands  of  his  rebellious  fol- 
lowers, and  his  settlement  was  abandoned.  Other  Frenchmen 
there  were,  however,  who  were  willing  to  undertake  the 
accomplishment  of  the  project  in  which  he  had  failed ;  and  in 
1699  another  band  of  colonists,  under  the  leadership  of  Le- 
moyne  d^Iberville,  sought  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  On 
the  way  there,  they  entered  Mobile  Bay,  where  they  remained 
five  days.  D'Iberville  tells  us,  "  This  bay  is  very  beautiful 
for  habitation ;  and  a  large  river,  with  muddy  waters,  empties 
into  it,  at  about  the  distance  of  thirteen  leagues  from  Pensa- 
cola.  At  a  distance  of  thirteen  or  fourteen  leagues  westward 
of  Mobile,  we  found  a  place  formed  by  islands  and  the  main- 
land, where  there  is  good  anchorage  and  protection  to  ships 
against  storms.  I  resolved  to  leave  the  ships  there,  and  go 
with  the  small  vessels  to  the  neighborhood  of  Lago  de  Lodo 
(Muddy  Lake),  which  is  the  name  the  Spaniards  give  to  the 
Bay  of  St.  Esprit."  [''  Narrative  of  the  Expedition  of  M. 
D'Iberville  to  Louisiana.''  Dated  July  3d,  1699.  French, 
Hist.  Coll.,  New  Series,  v.  I.  p.  20-21.]  According  to  this 
interpretation,  the  Espiritu  Santo  Bay  of  the  Spaniards  was 
probably  the  St.  Louis  Bay  of  to-day,  which  receives  the 
waters  of  Lakes  Ponchartrain  and  Borgne.  There  is  indeed 
some  ground  for  this  interpretation  ;  and,  from  the  nature  of 
the  case,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  mariners  feeling  their  way 
along  the  north  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  from  Florida  to 
the  west  would  find  their  way  into  this  body  of  water.  St. 
Louis  Bay  receives,  it  is  true,  a  very  small  portion  of  the 
waters  of  the  Mississippi  through  Lakes  Ponchartrain  and 
Borgne ;  but  it  is  the  Pearl  Eiver,  flowing  into  Lake  Borgne, 
which  would  be  much  more  naturally  discovered  from  this 
side  than  the  Mississippi ;  and  accordingly,  if  the  modern  Bay 
of  St.  Louis  is  the  Bay  of  Espiritu  Santo  of  the  Spaniards,  the 


172  America:  Its  Geographical  History. 

Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  was  much  more  probably  the  Pearl 
than  the  Mississippi  River.  But  this  same  explorer  informs 
us  that  into  Mobile  Bay  flows  "  a  large  river,  with  muddy 
waters ; ''  so  that  we  may  also  interpret  the  "  Muddy  Bay  "  of 
the  Spaniards  to  have  been  Mobile  Bay.  Furthermore,  St. 
Louis  Bay  is  a  shapeless  body  of  water,  with  its  longest  diam- 
eter running  east  and  west,  and  is  enclosed  on  one  side,  only 
by  a  series  of  islands ;  while  the  Bay  of  Espiritu  Santo,  on  the 
great  majority  of  the  maps,  has  its  longest  diameter  running 
north  and  south,  the  body  of  water  is  entirely  enclosed  by  the 
mainland,  and  moreover,  has  a  form  so  strikingly  like  that  of 
Mobile  Bay,  that  it  seems  impossible  to  reject  the  natural, 
unprejudiced  interpretation, — namely  that  Mobile  Bay  and  the 
Bay  of  Espiritu  Santo  of  many  Spanish  cartographers  are  one 
and  the  same. 

But  to  continue  with  M.  d'Iberville's  description  : — "  On 
the  21st,  we  took  our  departure  for  Malabouchia,  the  name 
given  to  the  Mississippi  by  the  Indians,  and,  with  two  row- 
boats,  some  bark  canoes,  and  fifty-three  men,  we  entered  this 
river  on  the  night  of  the  second  of  March.  I  found  it  ob- 
structed with  rafts  of  petrified  wood,  of  a  sufficient  hardness 
to  resist  the  action  of  the  sea.  I  found  there  twelve  feet  of 
water,  and  anchored  two  leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
where  the  depth  is  from  ten  to  twelve  fathoms,  with  a  breadth 
of  from  four  to  five  hundred  yards."  [pp.  21-22.]  "  On  the 
7th,  at  a  distance  of  about  thirty-five  leagues  up  the  river,  I 
met  with  some  Indians,  who  told  me  that  it  was  yet  three  and 
a  half  days'  travel  before  I  could  reach  the  Bayagoulas,  and 
that  theirs  was  the  first  village  I  should  reach.  .  .  .  By 
exact  observations,  I  found  its  position  was  sixty-four  leagues 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river."  [p.  23.]  This  experience  has 
not  much  similarity  to  that  of  Pineda,  who  found  forty  villages 
on  his  river  within  six  leagues  of  the  coast.  To  this  it  might 
be  answered  that  the  inhabitants  may  have  died  out  or  moved 
elsewhere  in  the  lapse  of  almost  two  centuries  between  the  two 
expeditions;  but  to  that  we  respond  that  the  banks  of  the 


Supplement  173 

lower  Mississippi  were  not  and  are  not  adapted  in  their  natural 
state  to  afford  sustenance  to  a  large  population.  Besides  the 
geological  evidence,  we  have  very  early  historical  evidence 
according  to  Barclays  account  of  the  expedition  of  Narvaez 
and  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  wherein  he  speaks  of  "  the  sterility  of 
the  land  '^  near  which  Narvaez  was  lost.  \^Ensayo  Oron.,  p.  10.] 
Also  in  Vega  we  read  of  "  the  unpeopled  island  which  stands 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande  "  [Mississippi].  [Lib.  IV. 
Cap.  XI,  p.  250.]  Margry,  in  volume  IV,  gives  us  the  jour- 
nal of  M.  d'Iberville,  from  December,  1698,  to  May  3d,  1699, 
in  which  the  entrance  of  the  Mississippi  is  described  as  fol- 
lows : — "  On  approaching  these  rocks  for  shelter,  I  perceived 
that  there  was  a  river.  I  passed  between  these  rocks,  with 
twelve  feet  of  water,  the  sea  running  high,  where  on  approach- 
ing the  rocks,  I  found  sweet  water  with  a  very  strong  cur- 
rent." ...  "  These  rocks  are  of  wood  petrified  with  mud, 
and  become  black  rocks  which  resist  the  sea.  They  are 
numberless,  rising  out  of  the  water,  some  great,  some  small, 
distant  from  each  other  twenty  paces,  a  hundred,  three  hun- 
dred, five  hundred  paces,  more  or  less,  running  toward  the 
south-west,  a  circumstance  that  made  me  recognize  that  it  was 
the  River  of  the  Palisades,  which  appeared  to  me  well  named, 
because,  when  one  is  at  its  mouth,  which  is  a  league  and  a 
half  from  these  rocks,  it  appears  entirely  barred  by  them." 
[p.  159.]  ....  "At  two  and  a  half  leagues  from  the 
entrance,  the  river  forks  into  three  branches.  The  middle 
one  is  as  broad  as  the  one  by  which  I  entered,  from  three 
hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hundred  toises  in  breath.  The 
other  flows  along  the  land  to  the  south-west,  and  did  not 
appear  to  me  so  large."     [pp.  160-161.] 

Without  going  into  so  much  detail  as  to  later  explorations, 
it  may  be  well  to  refer  to  the  facts  as  found  by  some  other 
explorers.  In  1721,  the  bar  was  found  to  be  about  900  toises 
wide,  with  twelve  feet  of  water,  and  the  current  "  very  slug- 
gish." [La  Harpe's  Historical  Journal  of  the  establishment 
of  the  French  in  Louisiana;  in  French,  Hist.  Coll.,  Pt.  III. 


174  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

p.  87.]  Charlevoix,  writing  in  the  following  year,  says :  ''The 
bar  has  scarce  any  water  in  the  greatest  part  of  those  little 
outlets,  which  the  river  has  opened  for  itself ; "  also,  "  The 
greatest  part  are  only  little  rivulets,  and  some  are  even  only 
separated  by  sand  banks,  which  are  almost  level  with  the 
water."  He  adds  furthermore,  that  "  it  is  entirely  a  fable, 
which  has  been  reported,  that  for  twenty  leagues  the  Missis- 
sippi does  not  mix  its  waters  with  those  of  the  sea.''  As  to 
the  "  only  mouth  of  the  river  which  is  navigable,"  he  found 
its  breadth  "two  hundred  and  fifty  fathom,  its  depth  is 
eighteen  feet  in  the  middle,  the  bottom  soft  ooze."  [French, 
Pt.  III.  pp.  179-1 84.]  Sau  vole,  another  of  the  early  explorers, 
is  of  the  opinion  that  "  The  Mississippi  River  has  no  cur- 
rent or  very  little."  [Ibid.,  III.  230.]  And  still  another 
found  the  water  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  at  least  in  summer, 
"  brackish."     [Dumont's  Memoirs^  in  Ibid.,  V.  p.  30.] 

From  this  mass  of  evidence  it  seems  to  me  to  be  clear  that 
the  Mississippi  has  never,  in  historical  times,  flowed  into  a 
bay.  That  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  did  flow  into  a  bay  is 
established  by  the  almost  unanimous  evidence  of  the  maps, 
which  is  strengthened  by  the  testimony  of  a  number  of  writers. 
The  origin  of  the  name,  before  the  days  of  De  Soto,  we  have 
been  unable  to  discover  in  any  of  the  ancient  authorities  which 
have  come  to  our  notice. 

What  then  is  the  result  of  our  investigation  ? 

1st.  Modern  historians  fail  to  give  us  the  sources  whence 
they  have  drawn  their  information  as  to  the  matter  in  hand, 
except  in  one  case,  that  of  Mr.  Winsor,  who  cites  Navarrete. 
This  Spanish  authority  does  indeed  bear  out  Mr.  Winsor  in 
most  of  his  description,  and  especially  in  his  closing  statement 
that  the  country  was  named  Amichel ;  but  he  does  not  give  a 
name  to  the  "  river  of  very  great  volume,"  discovered  by 
Pineda.  The  name  of  the  country  Amichel  is  found  else- 
where only  in  the  king's  proclamation,  whence  Navarrete 
evidently  took  it ;  but  as  we  have  no  evidence  as  to  its  posi- 
tion, the  name  does  not  assist  us  in  fixing  the  river  of  Pineda. 


Supplement.  175 

2d.  We  have  been  unable  to  find  any  authority  among  the 
ancient  Spaniards  for  the  statement  that  Pineda  gave  the  name 
Espiritu  Santo  to  the  "river  of  very  great  vohime"  of  his 
discovery. 

3d.  Where  we  do  find  a  name  for  the  river  discovered  by 
Pineda,  it  is  Panuco  and  not  Espiritu  Santo.  This  is  the 
name  given  by  Cortes  and  by  Peter  Martyr,  contemporaries  of 
Pineda,  and  by  Herrera,  one  of  the  earliest  Spanish  historians 
of  American  discoveries. 

4th.  The  earliest  mention  that  we  have  found  of  the  Rio  del 
Espiritu  Santo  occurs  in  Peter  Martyr ;  it  is  not  made  in  con- 
nection with  Pineda^s  voyage,  and  the  description  contains 
nothing  suggestive  of  the  Mississippi. 

5th.  From  a  comparison  of  the  accounts  of  De  Soto's  expe- 
dition, it  appears  that  the  Mobile,  and  not  the  Mississippi,  was 
the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  of  those  days.  One  ambiguous 
statement  of  Biedma  may  be  interpreted  as  giving  this  name 
to  the  Mississippi ;  but  it  entirely  lacks  confirmation  either  in 
the  other  parts  of  the  same  account,  or  in  other  contemporary 
chronicles. 

6th.  The  early  French  explorers  in  this  region  rarely  if  ever 
identified  the  Mississippi  with  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo, 
while  they  did  identify  it  with  a  number  of  other  rivers,  whose 
names  appear  on  the  early  Spanish  maps. 

7th.  An  examination  of  a  large  number  of  early  maps  leads 
to  the  conviction  that  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  as  there 
drawn  was  the  stream  now  known  in  its  various  parts  as  the 
Coosa,  Alabama,  and  Mobile ;  while  it  is  possible  that  the 
Apalachicola  may  have  been  intended  by  some  few  of  them. 

8th.  The  geological  evidence,  and  the  testimony  of  the 
early  French  explorers,  make  it  impossible  to  believe  that 
the  Mississippi  could  have  been  the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo 
of  the  Spaniards. 

Until  forced  by  unsought  evidence  to  doubt  the  identity  of 
the  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  with  our  Mississippi,  the  writer 
of  these  pages  had  accepted  without  question  the  usual  inter- 


176  America:   Its  Geographical  History. 

pretation.  Drawn  on  by  ever  increasing  interest  to  investi- 
gate the  subject  more  fully,  further  study  gradually  changed 
doubt  to  conviction,  but  conviction  that  the  old  interpretation 
was  wrong,  and  that  a  new  one  must  be  adopted.  Whether 
the  evidence  and  arguments  here  adduced  are  strong  enough 
to  convince  historical  students  generally  as  to  the  justness  of 
the  author's  conclusion,  remains  for  the  future  to  decide.  He 
has  at  least  done  what  was  in  his  power  to  arrive  at  the  truth. 

Walter  B.  Scaife. 


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